By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Poland should not lobby the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on missile defense but should accept any decisions Washington takes, the foreign minister has told a Polish newspaper.
“We should accept any U.S. government decision [on missile defense] instead of playing the role of a Pentagon faction lobbyist. We should not interfere in somebody else’s business,” Radoslaw Sikorski said in an interview published in Gazeta Wyborcza on Monday.
“This is an American project, and we should not pretend we have more control over it than is the case,” he said, commenting on the Polish presidential office’s statement on Saturday that Obama had promised to the Polish leader to implement the missile defense project.
Obama’s foreign policy adviser denied the U.S. president-elect had made such a commitment, and the Polish presidential spokesman later clarified his earlier statement.
“As for missile defense, I assess chances to continue the program at over 50%. The treaty will be implemented if Poland and the Czech Republic ratify it and if the Congress allocates the funding for it,” Sikorski said.
“On the other hand, a president voted for by over 90% of black U.S. residents, a president who wants to look after the poorest part of American society, will probably seek funds for social programs in other areas of the budget,” he said.
According to Russian experts, Obama, who takes office on January 20, could cancel agreements to deploy a U.S. missile shield in Central Europe.
Russia considers the planned deployment of 10 U.S. missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic a threat to its national security. The United States says the system is needed to counter possible attacks from “rogue” states like Iran.