US nuclear defence ‘exposes Poland’

A TOP Russian general yesterday said Poland’s agreement to accept a US missile interceptor base exposes the former communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons.

The statement by General Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defence elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Poland and the US on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the US says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia’s missile force.

“Poland, by deploying [the system] is exposing itself to a strike — 100%,” Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, said.

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia’s military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons “against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them”. Nogovitsyn said that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems.

At a news conference earlier yesterday, Nogovitsyn had reiterated Russia’s frequently stated warning that placing missile-defence elements in Poland and the Czech Republic would bring an unspecified military response. But his subsequent statement substantially stepped up a war of words. US officials said the timing of the deal was not meant to antagonise Russia when relations are already strained over the recent fighting between Russia and Georgia over the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia. Russian forces went deep into Georgia in the fighting, raising wide concerns that Russia could be seeking to occupy parts of its small, pro-US neighbour, which has vigorously lobbied to join NATO, or even to force its government to collapse.

Under the agreement that Warsaw and Washington reached, Poland will accept an American missile interceptor base. “We have crossed the rubicon,” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said, referring to US consent to Poland’s demands after more than 18 months of negotiations.

Washington says the planned system is needed to protect the US and Europe from possible attacks by missile-armed “rogue states” like Iran. The Kremlin, however, feels it is aimed at Russia’s missile force and warns it will worsen tensions.