UPDATE 2-Polish, Czech PMs upbeat on missiles, Russia fumes

...

By Matt Reynolds

Poland and the Czech Republic on Monday voiced willingness to take parts of a U.S. global missile defence system on their soil as Moscow angrily warned this could make them targets of a Russian missile strike.

The United States has asked the two central European countries to host part of its multi-billion dollar defence system designed to counter missiles fired by what Washington calls "rogue states", that is Iran and North Korea.

Russia has ridiculed the U.S. military logic and views the plan as a threat to its national security that would distort the post-Cold War balance of power in Europe.

But the prime ministers of the two former Soviet satellites, both now members of the NATO alliance, said they were likely to agree to Washington's request.

"We have agreed that our response to the (U.S.) offer will most likely be positive," Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said at a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Poland would host a battery of up to 10 ground-based ballistic rockets while the neighbouring Czech Republic would be the site for an advanced radar system capable of tracking missiles.

In Moscow, the commander of Russia's Strategic Forces reminded Poland and the Czech Republic that Russia's military had the capability to target the new U.S. bases in eastern Europe.

"So far we have seen nothing being done, only intentions being talked about," General Nikolai Solovtsov told a news conference on Monday.

"But should the Polish and Czech governments decide (to host the U.S. missile shield), the strategic missile forces will be capable of having these installations as their targets if a relevant political decision were made," he added.

In Brussels, NATO spokesman James Appathurai dismissed the Russian general's comments as outdated. "The days of talk of targeting NATO territory or vice versa are long past us. This kind of extreme language is out of date and uncalled for," he said in a statement.

U.S. CRITICISED

Trying to prevent the move, Moscow has threatened to install medium-range ballistic missiles in a region neighbouring Poland.

Germany has also criticised the United States for failing to inform Russia and neighbouring countries of details of the plan beforehand.

Kaczynski and Topolanek both dismissed the criticism.

"Saying that the U.S. did not consult with the Russia is very naive," Topolanek said.

Kaczynski added: "The missile shield is not aimed against any 'normal' country. Saying it is aimed to change the military balance of power is a total misunderstanding."

Solovtsov's comments were in line with a new harsher tone in Russian-U.S. relations. In a speech this month that smacked of the Cold War to Western ears, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of seeking to impose its will on the world.

In a joint article published earlier by daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita on Monday, Kaczynski and Topolanek defended their stance saying it would provide protection for all NATO members and not just the United States.

"Joining the missile defence system will serve as passive protection from attacks ... for all members of the transatlantic community," they said.

Warsaw and Prague, both allies of the United States since the fall of communism in 1989, say the shield would tie Washington's interest to the region and therefore provide security. (Additional reporting by Oleg Shchedrov in Moscow and Paul Taylor in Brussels) ((Writing by Natalia Reiter and Richard Balmforth, editing by Alison Williams, Reuters Messaging: natalia.reiter.reuters.com@reuters.net, tel. +48 22 653 9715))

Keywords: POLAND CZECH/SHIELD

[WARSAW/Reuters/Finance.cz]