Tusk reassures citizens on missile defense

Prime Minister Donald Tusk set out on Friday to reassure residence of a Baltic town of Słupsk and Redzików that is set to host elements of the controversial US missile defense system that it would not enhance nor threaten their security.

"I will try to convince citizens of the region that this will be a place important for Poland's security," Tusk told reporters during a visit to the Redzikowo military base where the interceptors are due to be located. "Because of the shield, Redzikowo and [the nearby town of] Slupsk will be better protected. Maybe they will be more exposed, but they definitely will be better protected."

Warsaw sealed the deal in mid-August with the US after months of negotiations and during the height of the Georgia crisis, a move that has caused much criticism from Russia. Under the accord, Poland will host 10 interceptors and a battery of Patriot missiles. The shield is meant to protect the United States and its European allies from attacks by what it calls "rogue" states, particularly Iran.

Russia has reacted negatively to the move with President Dmitry Medvedev saying that Moscow would respond militarily to the deployment of US missiles close to its border.

Slawomir Ziemianowicz, a representative of Slupsk local authorities near the Baltic port of Gdańsk, told Reuters: "In the past, when Russia threatened to turn its missiles against us, nobody took it seriously. But now, after what happened in Georgia, these words have become much more serious."

Source: Reuters, TVN24