Poland agrees to host US airbase

US Ambassador Lee Feinstein (L) and Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich (R) sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation of the Polish and US Air Forces on Polish soil in Warsaw on June 13

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184574.html

Poland and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of a permanent US military base on Polish soil.

The two NATO allies signed the accord in Warsaw on Monday, according to which the US Air Force will station troops and aircraft in Poland starting in 2013, Reuters reported.

"This memorandum of understanding means that by the end of 2012 we will have in Poland a detachment allowing for the permanent rotation of American military aircraft, both combat and transport aircraft," Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said after the signing ceremony with the US ambassador to Poland, Lee Feinstein.

"From 2013 we plan the regular and periodic presence of aircraft and the training of pilots four times a year," Klich added.

The US Air Force Aviation Detachment will be the first US troops to ever be permanently stationed in the country.

The deal, which was endorsed by US President Barack Obama during his trip to Poland in late May, provides support for an air detachment to train Polish pilots to fly F-16 warplanes and C-130 transport planes.

Twenty US servicemen are also expected to deploy to Poland in 2012 to maintain the aircraft.

During his visit to Warsaw, Obama and Polish leaders also confirmed plans for Poland to host SM-3 interceptors from 2018 under a US missile defense program.

Russia threatens NATO with nukes

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161778.html

The Russian president has called on NATO to clarify Moscow's role in a European missile system, warning if no agreement is reached, Russia will be forced to deploy “offensive” nuclear weapons.

"So this is not a joking matter. We expect from our NATO partners a direct and unambiguous answer," Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with Russia's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin.

"In either case, we are either together with NATO, or we separately find an adequate response to the existing problem," he said.

Under former US President George W. Bush the United States proposed a plan to deploy a missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic -- a plan which was fiercely opposed to by Russia. Moscow said it would deem such a deployment a threat to its sovereignty and would properly respond to it.

US President Barack Obama later scrapped the plan proposing Russia to join the missile system.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on a joint missile system plan in Europe during a NATO-Russia Council meeting in Lisbon in November last year.

The parties agreed to formulate terms for cooperation on the missile system by June 2011.

"Either we agree to certain principles with NATO, or we fail to agree, and then in the future we are forced to adopt an entire series of unpleasant decisions concerning the deployment of an offensive nuclear missile group," Medvedev was quoted by AFP as saying.

US to deploy SM-3s in Poland

A US destroyer launching an SM-3, file photo

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/154621.html


US President Barack Obama has committed his country to deploying SM-3 missile interceptors in Poland to replace the controversial Bush-era program.

The commitment came after Obama met his visiting Polish counterpart, Bronislaw Komorowski, at the White House on Wednesday.

It was agreed that the land-based missile interceptors will be deployed in Poland in the 2018 timeframe as part of America's NATO-wide missile system. The agreement follows a treaty signed by both countries' officials in Prague in April.

The missile system will be deployed in four stages beginning next year and would be capable of intercepting long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"President Komorowski expressed Poland's strong support for the prompt ratification of the new START treaty, as it would bolster Polish and European security and contribute to the Non- Proliferation Treaty's disarmament goals," a joint statement said.

The treaty is part of White House's efforts to reset relations with Russia.

The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) has a range of 500 kilometers but can be enhanced for longer distances.

The missile was used by the US Navy to destroy a satellite 130 miles (209 km) above the Pacific Ocean in February of 2008.