U.S. government officials have scrambled to discredit reports that it will not install planned missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading Polish newspaper, reported that statements by high-level American officials suggested that U.S. President Barack Obama would scrap or alter the initial plans to furnish the Czechs and Poles with modern missile defense facilities.
The American missile shield has been a highly-charged political issue in the two Central European countries that joined the European Union in 2004 in a massive accession of 10 countries, most of which had as Communist states taken orders from Moscow until 1989. Under Vladimir Putin and his successor to the presidency Dmitry Medvedev, Russia has become more aggressive in its foreign policy, firm on maintaining its sphere of influence in most former Soviet republics and quick to punish national leaders trying to pull towards the West.
Stressing the strategic importance of friendly relations with Russia, Obama has been far less enthusiastic than his predecessor to implement the agreements with the Czech and Polish governments, who bickered amongst themselves over the cost-benefit and terms of the deals while Moscow fumed and threatened deployment of its own missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave on Poland's northeast border in response.
When hosted by Medvedev in July, Obama pledged to "reset" the troubled U.S.-Russian relationship and the leaders left room for discussion on the topic of the controversial missile shield technology. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, U.S. government lobbyists and officials have mentioned Turkey and Israel as alternate host nations for the missile defense system.
Calling the reports inaccurate, U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley added that the government's review of the missile defense strategy "is ongoing and has not reached completion yet."
Comments