Poland says it has early deal to house U.S. missiles

WASHINGTON - Poland said yesterday that it has reached a preliminary agreement with the United States on plans to install a missile-defense system on Polish territory.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said that after meetings with U.S. officials he was satisfied that the United States would deal with security problems that Poland wanted addressed as part of an eventual deal.

The announcement should add momentum to a system the Bush administration has said it hopes to start installing this year.

The project, a major source of tension with Russia, had looked stalled since the Polish government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk made new demands after taking office in November.

Sikorski did not outline details of the deal, but in a joint appearance with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the two officials suggested that the United States would help with Polish air defenses.

"We understand that there is a desire for defense modernization in Poland, and particularly for air-defense modernization in Poland," Rice said. "This is something that we support because it will make our ally, Poland, more capable, it will make Poland, as the foreign minister has said, more able to operate with us."

Sikorski said that negotiators would continue to work on the details of an agreement that would allow the United States to install 10 interceptors as part of a long-range European missile-defense system.

"We are not at the end of the road as regards negotiations. We are in the middle of the road," he said. "We have an agreement in principle."

He sought to address concerns about the U.S. air defense aid that are likely to be expressed by Russia, which has already strongly objected to the missile defense plans as a threat to it.

"The reinforced Polish air defenses are not directed against anybody," Sikorski said. But the air defense system Poland has asked for help in building would seem to be aimed at addressing its worries about Russia's threats.

The United States has dismissed Russian concerns about the missile-defense system, saying it is intended to protect Europe from missiles fired from Iran and would be impotent against Russia's massive arsenal.