Russia-West tension may escalate over U.S. missile deal

U.S. chief negotiator John Rood (L) and

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer sign a missile shield

preliminary deal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw August 14,

2008. (Chinese media/Reuters Photo)
Photo

Gallery

BEIJING,

Aug. 15 (Chinese media) -- Poland and the United States struck a deal Thursday to

deploy parts of the U.S. global missile shield in Poland after Washington agreed

to improve the European nation's air defenses.

The plan, however, may infuriate Russia and further

strain its relations with the West, which are already tense due to Moscow's

recent military action in Georgia over South Ossetia.

Analysts have warned that the move may threaten

security and stability in Europe by sparking a new arms race in the region.

RUSSIAN ANGER

In what seemed to be a first sign of Moscow's

opposition after the missile deal was signed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei

Lavrov Thursday canceled a trip to Warsaw planned for September, according to

Polish diplomats.

On Thursday, Russia's parliamentary foreign affairs

committee chairman Konstantin Kosachev warned that the agreement would spark" a

real rise in tension in Russian-American relations," the Interfax news agency

reported.

The lawmaker also reiterated the view that the

defense shield actually targets Russia's arsenal.

In Jan. 2007, Washington officially unveiled its plan

to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar facility in the

neighboring Czech Republic to complete a global anti-missile system already in

place in the United States, Britain and Greenland.

Washington insisted that the system is designed to

protect the U.S. and Europe from possible attacks by what it calls missile-armed

"rogue states."

However, the plan met with strong opposition in

Russia, which believed that the defense shield would threaten its security and

jeopardize Russia's nuclear deterrent.

Moscow vowed to take retaliatory action against

Poland and the Czech Republic, its former satellite states which are now members

of the European Union and NATO.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had warned

earlier on many occasions that Russia may have to re-target some of its rockets

at the countries which host U.S. missile defenses.

Moscow's strong reaction to the U.S. planned

anti-missile system in eastern Europe showed Russia has been on high alert to

any new strategic moves by Washington, analysts said.

It also exposed the instability and vulnerability of

the European security system.

They feared that a new arms race could be unleashed

in the world if the Russian-American confrontation continues to escalate.

A heightened Russian-American confrontation may even

influence the global arms control process, thus pushing Europe and even the

world to the brink of a new "Cold War," analysts warned.

POLISH FEARS

The strong Russian reaction and repeated warnings may

have well explained why Poland had bargained so hard during the missile talks

for more U.S. military aid, particularly for a boost in its own air defenses.

The recent fighting between Russia and Georgia, a

former Soviet republic, seemed to intensify Poland's fear of a resurgent Russia

and reinforce its arguments for more U.S. security guarantees.

In the past days, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

has insisted that the U.S. provide sufficient military cooperation in return for

consent to host the anti-missile base on its territory.

"We have finally got understanding of our point of

view that Poland, being a crucial partner of NATO and an important friend and

ally of the United States, must also be safe," Tusk said earlier.

"The events in the Caucasus show clearly that such

security guarantees are indispensable," Tusk said.