US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton witnessed the signing of the pact, which allows the two nations to implement plans to station US missile interceptors on Polish soil to defend against potential threats from Iran and elsewhere.
She then attended a conference on promoting democracy and civil liberties — an issue she is stressing during a four-day trip to the former Soviet bloc nations of Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
US President Barack Obama decided last year to scrap a Bush-era plan to deploy a longer-range missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic opting instead to use smaller sea- and land-based missile interceptors.
“The United States is deeply committed to Poland’s security and sovereignty,” Clinton told reporters at a joint news conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
“Today, by signing an amendment to the ballistic missile defense agreement, we are reinforcing this commitment.” While there were reports last year that Poland was unhappy with Obama’s abandoning the Bush plan, Sikorski said his nation actually preferred the new approach.
“When President Obama announced the new configuration of the system, we did say that we liked the new configuration better but I think you didn’t believe us,” he said. “I hope now that we have signed the annex, I hope you do believe us.”
Clinton sought to counter Russian objections to the plan, which Moscow views as a danger to its own nuclear deterrent.
“This is purely a defensive system. It is not directed at Russia. It does not threaten Russia. It is a defensive system to protect our friends and allies and our deployed forces,” she said. “The real threats come from the development of short- and medium-term missiles on a faster timetable from Iran.”
The two countries also announced plans to cooperate on the exploitation of shale gas at the news conference.
