Rising Tension Between US and Russia
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The Polish government has signed an agreement with the US government to establish an American military base in Poland. Negotiations have started several months ago, after the Russian invasion to the Crimean Peninsula. East European countries, Poland and the Baltic countries in particular, have demanded NATO and the US to station military forces in their territory to offer protection from Russia.
And indeed, the parliament, with a majority of 422 MPs of 430, authorized the President to ratify the technical agreement related to the US anti-missile defense base in Redzikowo. The parliament authorized the president to ratify the technical agreement, regulating the conditions, on which the US base would operate within the territory of Poland. The document regulates the issues related to the height of the buildings in the vicinity of the base, shape of the spatial policy in the neighborhood, setting-up and operation of the devices that would be emitting electromagnetic waves, airspace management over the base etc.
Construction works related to the base are scheduled to begin next year, while the operational capability for the system is going to be reached in 2018. US Standard SM-3 Block IB and Block IIA anti-missile systems are going to be stationed within the area, while the base itself is going to constitute a part of the European anti-missile shield, also known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach.
In russia, as might be expected, the news were not received well. Last June president Putin blamed NATO countries of overstepping their boundaries in nearing the Russian border. Is there a danger in these actions of breaking strategic balance in Europe? And will Russia taken countermeasures to restore balance while it is still busy with its Syrian adventure? Only time will tell.
