The United States is dropping its plan for a missile defense shield in Europe - a plan, which Russia had fiercely opposed. The Russian president Medvedev called the US new approach "responsible" and said that he is "ready to continue the dialogue." Medvedev is in the US next week for the G20 summit and the United Nations General Assembly.
In July this year Russia allowed the United States to transport military personnel and lethal equipment across Russia to Afghanistan (for free). The deal came after Russia had forced Kyrgyzstan to close the U.S. military base in Manas.
Poland and the Czech Republic had based much of their future security policy on getting the missile defenses from the United States. The countries share deep concerns of a future military threat from Russia. Poland and the Baltic republics, in particular, have been alarmed by what they see as Russian "neo-imperialism" in Moscow's dealings with ex-Soviet republics such as Georgia.
"This is catastrophic for Poland," a spokeswoman at the Polish Ministry of Defense said. And the deputy head of Poland's National Security Bureau, Witold Waszczykowski, told Reuters on Thursday: "Without the shield we would de facto be losing a strategic alliance with Washington".
Sources: CNN.com; CBSNews.com; BBC News; EurActiv.com
