Russia opposes Polish/American military cooperation

With reference to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski’s visit to the United States on 9 December, Russia has criticised the announcements that American fighter and transport aircraft will be deployed in Poland. The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement on this matter, and defence minister Anatoli Serdyukov stated that Russia would respond appropriately to the appearance of NATO forces on Russian borders. These reactions show that, despite Russian declarations of a change in their policy towards Poland, Moscow has not abandoned attempts to prevent the appearance in Central Europe of any kind of new military presence, by NATO or the United States.

In its statement, the Russian foreign ministry stated that the appearance of American aircraft in Poland is an action which compromises the security of other countries. The statement also criticised the presence of Patriot anti-missile units, stating that the West’s actions work against the improvement of NATO/Russian relations. It was announced that Poland and the USA’s plans will be considered in the Russian armed forces’ strategy and in their cooperation with their allies. In turn, with regard to the disclosure by the WikiLeaks website of information about NATO'S adoption of plans to defend Poland and the Baltic States, the Russian defence minister stated that he expects the Alliance to deny such information, and has announced that Russia will respond to the appearance of NATO troops in these states. <MaK>