Poland expects same U.S arms aid as other allies
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States should grant Poland the same level of aid to modernize its armed forces as it does to other key allies if it wants to site part of its missile defense shield there, Poland's defense minister said on Monday.
Bogdan Klich said Poland was in no rush to clinch a deal with Washington to host 10 U.S. interceptor rockets on its soil.
"We count on the U.S. treating us, in connection with the talks on the anti-missile shield, similar to the way it treats its strategic partners in other parts of the world," Klich said after a meeting of European Union defense ministers.
He told a news conference the U.S. should "earmark for the support of the modernization of the Polish armed forces sums similar to those doled out to, say, Pakistan or Egypt."
He did not give precise figures. The U.S. has granted some $10 billion to Pakistan in defense aid since 2001, although only part of the sum went to armed forces modernization. Egypt will receive some $200 million this year for defense from Washington.
President George W. Bush's administration has said it wants to place the missile interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic to guard against possible missile threats from Iran and North Korea.
Bush pledged in March to help modernize the Polish military, but negotiations have since become bogged down. U.S. officials say Polish expectations are inflated and warn Washington could place the missile interceptors elsewhere if the talks fail.
"We are interested in a good effect of the talks, not in their fast pace," said Klich.
The United States holds a presidential election in November and it is unclear if the country will push ahead with the project if a Democratic candidate replaces Bush, a Republican.
Warsaw officials say the Polish public, which is largely skeptical about the U.S.-proposed shield, would not accept a deal that failed to boost Polish defenses in a tangible way. Neighboring Russia strongly opposes the shield.
Poland overthrew communist rule in 1989, escaping from the then Soviet bloc. It joined the NATO military alliance in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
(Editing by Catherine Evans)
