Prime Minister
Calls U.S. Offer on Missile Shield 'Unsatisfactory'
"We
appreciate the issue and want to participate in the global security system -
including the security of the United States - but I'm primarily responsible for
the security of Poland and Poland's citizens … This can't be done by crossing
our fingers behind our backs and pretending that there is security, when in
reality it isn't there."
-- Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk
"It's been
nineteen years since the fall of communism, and Russia still dictates what
happens in Poland."
Polish Foreign
Minister Radek Sikorski: He and Prime Minister Tusk are playing
high-stakes poker, demanding cash for military modernization and Patriot
missile batteries for Warsaw. He and Tusk say they aren't satisfied that Washington has shown enough concern for
Poland's security.
Too little - is how Prime
Minister Donald Tusk summed up the latest American offer for installing an
anti-missile shield in Poland. During yesterday’s press conference [July 3],
Tusk stressed that the key element in assessing the U.S. proposal was and
remains improving Poland's national security.
"We appreciate the issue
and want to participate in the global security system - including the security
of the United States - but I'm primarily responsible for the security of Poland
and Poland's citizens," the Prime Minister said.
He reminded those present
that Poland sees the United States as its most important ally and friend, and
that we didn’t refuse assistance to the Americans with their missions in Iraq
and Afghanistan. In his opinion, however, the anti-missile shield has greater
implications since it concerns Polish territory. That is why he has concluded
that the American offer is "unsatisfactory."
During the press conference,
Tusk said he would agree to accept the shield after obtaining "permanent
security guarantees" that account for our geographic location [vicinity to
Russia] and tragic historical experiences [reference to World War II, when
Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany from the West and Soviet Russia from the
East]. The second condition is, "anti-aircraft defenses that aren't
temporary - but permanent." What's it all about?
According to our sources, the
latest American proposals that were negotiated in Washington by Deputy
Secretary of State Witold Waszczykowski, included the possibility of moving a
squadron of Patriot missile batteries to Polish territory from Germany. But the
installation would proceed in a back-and-forth manner:
The missile batteries (probably one of three Patriot batteries) would arrive in
Poland every quarter [three months] - for a month. Then they would return to
Germany for the remaining 2 months. This pattern would be guaranteed for a
year. At some point afterwards, the missile batteries could be ceded to Poland.
Our government disagreed with
this arrangement; it wants the Patriots on a permanent basis and preferably
under Polish control - rather than in the hands of American units stationed
temporarily in Poland. "This can't be done by crossing our fingers behind
our backs and pretending that there is security, when in reality it isn't
there," Tusk said.
RUSSIAN REPORT ON POLAND'S
REJECTION OF U.S. SHIELD OFFER
The second important issue is
the "political declaration." The Polish Government wants a clear
declaration: America will militarily come to the aid of Poland in case of any
threat. American diplomats are of the opinion that as a member of NATO, Poland
already has such a guarantee. Nevertheless - according to our sources - the
U.S. is ready to provide this additional assurance of the Alliance’s guarantee.
Also yesterday, the Prime
Minister unexpectedly said that Poland isn't so concerned about American
financial aid for modernizing our army. The U.S. Defense Department considers
Polish demands excessive - and is willing to increase the aid by only $20
million per year, as promised earlier.
President Lech Kaczyński
was clearly vexed by the government’s position. Since early morning various
ministers have been summoned to the Presidential Palace. First, the ministers
of Defense and Foreign Affairs, along with Deputy Secretary of State and the
negotiator of the deal, Witold Waszczykowki, met with Presidential chief of staff
Anna Fotyga. In the afternoon, Defense Minister Radosław Sikorski met with
the President alone. "The President has a different point of view. He
favors a quick agreement," Foreign Minister Sikorski told reporters.
The [opposition] Law and
Justice Party [PiS] immediately went on the attack with the "Russian
argument."
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
"It's been nineteen
years since the fall of communism, and Russia still dictates what happens in
Poland," said former Deputy Prime Minister Przemysław Gosiewski.
Meanwhile, Representative Karol Karski, himself a former under secretary of
Foreign Affairs, demanded that the details of Tusk’s secret talks with Moscow
be disclosed.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: The Polish opposition accuses him
of making a back-door deal with Russia, after he declared the latest U.S.
proposal for missile shield 'unsatisfactory.'
The Prime Minister said that
the negotiations aren't yet completed and that he's ready at any point to take into
account a new offer or an adjustment in the U.S. proposal. But he isn't
inclined to hurry. "This is a serious matter, so we are not going to count
the hours."
The Department of State
unofficially expressed its disappointment, but said it remains open to further
talks.
But this time the talks won't
be carried by negotiators, our sources say. Decisions will hence be taken at
the political level. The Prime Minister and Defense Minister will deal directly
with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
"If a new proposal is
put on the table, the matter could be resolved by July 10 when Ms. Rice comes
to Europe," one of the Polish diplomats told us.
But the U.S. Embassy, which
on Wednesday was still preparing to receive Condoleezza Rice in Warsaw, has now
stopped making preparations.
