08 December 2010
Obama, Poland’s Komorowski Reaffirm U.S.-Polish Alliance
Washington — President Obama and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S.-Polish alliance by expanding defense cooperation, supporting greater economic links and promoting democracy in Europe and globally, the White House said December 8.
Obama and Komorowski met for about one hour in the Oval Office before meeting with reporters and calling for U.S. and Russian ratification of the New START arms reduction treaty. Action on the treaty has been delayed while some members of the U.S. Senate receive assurances that the United States will continue to modernize its nuclear arsenal.
Russia and the United States have signed the treaty, which is designed to reduce nuclear arsenals to 1,550 nuclear warheads for each country, down about a third from the current ceiling of 2,200 warheads. Both the U.S. Senate and Russian Duma have to ratify the treaty before it can take effect.
“Poland supports and fully accepts the aspiration for the ratification of the New START because we believe that this is the investment in the better and safer future,” Komorowski said through an interpreter.
Obama also confirmed a commitment by the United States to implement a missile defense system for Europe, known as Phased Adaptive Approach, which includes locating land-based SM-3 missile interceptors in Poland by approximately 2018. The president praised Poland for agreeing to host a portion of the missile defense system and for hosting an Air Force detachment that will help with training and defense. U.S. military aircraft will periodically rotate into Poland.
“We also discussed the tremendous sacrifices that the Polish military are making as part of the alliance in Afghanistan,” Obama said.
In Afghanistan, the United States will place 800 U.S. troops under Polish tactical command in Ghazni province and will loan an additional 20 U.S. mine-resistant armored vehicles to the Polish army, the White House said.
The United States and Poland have also agreed to enhance cooperation on scientific, technical and policy aspects of clean and efficient energy technologies.
“Because our relationship is not restricted to security, we discussed a range of economic issues, as well, including Polish leadership on energy independence issues in Central and Eastern Europe,” Obama said.
Obama cited Poland as a model for other nations in Central and Eastern Europe that are trying to build democratic institutions. And Obama and Komorowski confirmed their support for the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Initiative, which is designed to strengthen ties between the EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
