US, Poland Sign Joint Missile Defense Agreement

The United States and Poland signed on Thursday the joint statement on the U.S.-Poland Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement.

“The United States and Poland are pleased to jointly announce that the Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement of 2008 and its Amending Protocol of 2010 on deployment of the land-based SM-3 system within Poland has entered into force”, said the State Department in a statement.

“The U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense system will be located at Redzikowo Base as a part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defense in the 2018 timeframe. This base represents a significant contribution by our two nations to a future NATO missile defense capability”, added the statement.

The White House said in a separate statement that President Barack Obama is “committed to protecting the United States, U.S. deployed forces, our European Allies and partners against the growing threat of ballistic missiles”.

“Moving forward, the Administration will continue to consult closely with Congress and with our NATO allies to implement the vision the President set forth in September 2009”, he added.

In September 2009, Obama announced the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for missile defense to provide protection against the growing threat of ballistic missiles.

The White House concluded by noting that the US administration “will continue to rigorously evaluate the threat posed by ballistic missiles and the technology that we are developing to counter it. The United States remains committed to cost-effective and proven missile defenses that provide flexibility to address emerging threats”.