Poland eyes closer EU security ties after shield

Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski (L) and Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Kohout arrive for a news conference at the Palacyk Foksal in Warsaw June 30, 2009.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland should seek closer security ties within Europe following U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defence plan, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday.

Some in Poland, a loyal NATO ally of Washington that sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, have been upset by Obama's move, fearing it may embolden a more assertive Russia. Moscow, a fierce critic of the shield, has welcomed the U.S. decision.

"I hope this will prove a salutary shock, especially for the right end of Poland's political spectrum," Sikorski told TOK FM radio, adding it could lead some to rethink "the dream of basing everything on a bilateral alliance with the United States."

"We are a European country and here, first and foremost, we must seek security guarantees," he said, without elaborating.

The European Union has been trying for years to develop a bigger voice on security and defence matters but remains hobbled by its member states' reluctance to spend more money and by concerns about duplicating NATO's role.

Sikorski was long known as a conservative advocate of close trans-atlantic security ties, but has proved pragmatic as foreign minister, for example backing efforts to improve Poland's strained relations with Russia, its communist-era overlord.

His remarks on the shield aftermath seemed aimed partly at Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who has been very critical of Russia and strongly supported the shield as a sign of a greater U.S. military commitment to ex-communist central Europe.

Last week, Kaczynski -- whose twin brother Jaroslaw pushed hard for Poland to host the shield while prime minister until autumn 2007 -- said Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government bore part of the blame for Obama's decision.

Under the Bush plan, Washington would have installed 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a related radar system in the Czech Republic as protection against possible attack by Iran. It denied claims that the shield was intended to deter Russia.

FASTER, MORE FLEXIBLE

Last week, Obama said he wanted to replace the large, fixed shield installation with faster, more flexible defence systems that would initially be sea-based.

Sikorski said after Obama's announcement that Poland would be invited by Washington in due course to host an element of Obama's revamped missile defence system. He also said U.S. plans to deploy a Patriot battery in Poland as part of efforts to upgrade its air defences would still go ahead.

Russia's deputy defence minister had said that Moscow would scrap a planned deployment of new missiles in Kaliningrad, an enclave near Poland, in response to Obama's move. But Russia's top general said on Monday no such decision had been taken.

"It should be a political decision. It should be made by the president," the chief of Russia's general staff, Nikolai Makarov, told reporters.

Analysts say a clear message on the Iskander missiles could come when Obama meets his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in New York on September 23.

"There's a diplomatic game going on, the whole thing will be decided when the two leaders meet in a few days time. I don't think this may be a stumbling block," said Roland Timerbayev, a former Russian diplomatic negotiator at the Centre for Political Studies Russia.

France's European minister, Pierre Lellouche, was quoted on Monday as saying Obama's shield decision showed the need for more European cooperation on defence.

"President Obama's decision should make us realise that both Poland and the whole of Europe should base our security not on one but on two security guarantees," Lellouche told the Dziennik daily during a visit to Warsaw, referring to NATO and the EU.

But the head of Poland's National Security Bureau, which advises Kaczynski, said Warsaw could not rely on the EU.

"It's impossible. The European Union has no joint security policy," Aleksander Szczyglo told the Polska newspaper.

An opinion poll published at the weekend by the daily Rzeczpospolita showed nearly half of Poles backed Obama's decision to scrap the missile shield, while 31 percent said it was not good for Poland.

More than half of those asked said the decision would have no impact on Polish security.

(Writing by Gareth Jones, editing by Tim Pearce)