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Poland Called on the U.S. Not to Abandon Europe’s Missile Defense Plan
The approval of Moscow-advocated changes to the U.S. missile defense plan related to Eastern Europe would materially strengthen the global standing of Russia, Polish PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski emphasized when calling on Europe and the United States not to abandon the project.
Poland has notably advanced to making a positive decision about hosting the U.S. interceptors after the visit of U.S. President George Bush. The agreement could be attained in the near future, Kaczynski hoped.
Russia’s suggestion, however, is to station air defense components at Azerbaijan’s Gabala base instead of Poland and Czechia. The Gabala radar, President Putin pointed out June 7, will enable to shoot down potential enemy’s missile in the first boosting phase and the debris from explosion will fall to the sea instead of the cities of Europe.
Russia’s-leased Gabala radar in Azerbaijan is a component of early warning system set up in time of the Soviet Union as one of the most significant elements of Soviet missile defense facilities.
The maximum range capability of Iran’s missiles, Putin specified during the recent G8 summit, is 1,400 kilometers, but attacking Europe would require the range of 4,500 kilometers to 5,000 kilometers. “Iran even doesn’t plan to produce such missiles. They have never had any plans to attack Europe,” Putin pointed out.
The initial idea of the United States is to deploy ten interceptors in Poland and station a radar in Czechia. The missile defense installations are meant to counter a potential threat from some rogue states, particularly Iran and North Korea, the United States claims.
www.kommersant.com
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