by Marcus Papadopoulos
IN A move which is likely to increase the Kremlin’s suspicion that the United States is attempting to encircle Russia in eastern Europe, the Polish government announced last week that its territory would be host to American military personnel by the end of this year.
Poland’s deputy defence minister, Stanislaw Komorowski, said in an interview with the Financial Times that, as part of a bilateral security pact between Washington and Warsaw, a US Patriot missile unit – designed to destroy ballistic and cruise missiles and aircraft – is to be deployed on Polish soil, staffed by more than 100 American soldiers. Mr Komorowski added: “This will be the first time US soldiers are stationed on Polish soil. This will be symbolic for Poland.”
The agreement to install a battery of Patriot missiles in the former eastern bloc country was concluded by George W Bush’s administration last year. Although seen as part of Washington’s bid to clinch Polish support for the construction of an American defence shield in Poland, last week’s announcement is likely to complicate current Russo-American relations further.
As far as the Russian elite is concerned, a US-inspired cordon sanitaire – in the form of a belt of Nato member-states – has appeared along the western borders of the Russian Federation and is threatening to expand into Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, the aim is to neutralise the potential for a re-emergence of Russian influence and power in eastern Europe. And it is believed that US planners view Poland as having a key role to play in containing Russia, which has been thrust back onto the international stage under Vladimir Putin’s leadership.
Fearing that the “Nato barrier” could be extended across the Black Sea to Georgia by admitting the latter into Nato, the Kremlin took advantage of the ill-conceived attempt by Tbilisi last summer to recapture its secessionist region of South Ossetia. It repelled the initial attack and then eliminated the Georgian military capacity for war.
By beefing up its military presence in Poland – a historic adversary of Russia –the US presence is likely to be seen by the Russians as a destabilising factor in the area.
The deployment of a Patriot system in Poland may also disrupt current discussions between Russia and Nato on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty – a cornerstone agreement between the two limiting their deployment of conventional military hardware in Europe. Moscow, however, suspended its participation in the treaty nearly two years ago, as a result of alleged breaches by Nato.
The Western military alliance has been urging the Kremlin to reverse its decision, which it called “a step in the wrong direction for Russia and also the rest of Europe”.
