Rice to visit Poland to sign missile shield deal

US missile shield makes Poland a target: Russian general
Poland is making itself a target for Russia's military "100 percent" by hosting elements of a US anti-missile system, a senior Russian general was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency Friday. "By hosting these, Poland is making itself a target. This is 100 percent" certain, the agency quoted General Anatoly Nogovitsyn as saying. "It becomes a target for attack. Such targets are destroyed as a first priority," Nogovitsy was quoted as saying. Warsaw and Washington signed a preliminary deal Thursday on basing part of a US missile shield in Poland, in the face of Moscow's vehement opposition and mounting East-West tensions over Russia's military presence in Georgia. A foreign ministry official was quoted by Interfax as saying the timing of the deal amid the crisis in Georgia indicated that the system was aimed at Russia. Washington has always denied this.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Aug 17, 2008
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she would travel to Poland in coming days to ink a deal on installing US interceptor missiles on Polish territory.

"I'm going to Poland to sign a missile defense agreement in the next couple of days, after the NATO meeting," she told Fox News Sunday.

Foreign ministers of the 26 NATO members are due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Georgia, after a five-day war between Tbilisi and Moscow over the pro-Moscow region of South Ossetia.

Relations between Russia and the former Soviet Republic of Poland reached a new low after Moscow voiced fury at Warsaw's sudden announcement Thursday that it had reached a deal on the long-touted missile shield with the US.

The timing of the announcement infuriated Russia which said the weapons were clearly pointed at Moscow and warned they made Poland a legitimate military target.

"We are going to help rebuild Georgia into a strong Georgian state. The Russians will have failed in their effort to undermine Georgia. And we will be looking at what we can do with the states around that region as well," Rice said.

She is due to leave for Brussels on Monday.

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MISSILE DEFENSE

Russia vents fury over US missile plan

Moscow (AFP) Aug 15, 2008
Russia expressed its fury Friday over US plans to place a new missile system in eastern Europe, saying it was clear the weapons were pointed at Moscow and would be a fair military target to strike.

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