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An aide to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says the future U.S.
leader did not give Poland any commitment on a missile defense shield.
A
statement Saturday from Polish President Lech Kaczynski claims Mr.
Obama would go ahead with plans to install the system in eastern Europe.
Mr.
Obama's aide Denis McDonough confirms the two men spoke by telephone
late Friday night, but says the president-elect only supports a missile
defense shield when "the technology is proved to be workable."
The
outgoing administration of U.S. President George Bush and Warsaw signed
an agreement in August that allows the U.S. to deploy 10 defensive
missiles in Poland. The Czech Republic has also agreed to host part of
the system.
U.S. officials say the shield is designed to counter
a possible attack from "rogue" nations such as Iran. But Russia sees
the shield as a threat and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said
earlier this week he plans to deploy missiles near the Polish border.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he is concerned about Russia's plans.
France
holds the European Union's rotating presidency. The EU released a
statement Friday saying the Russian move will do nothing to improve
security and will curb future dialogue.
U.S. officials say they have tried hard to address Russian concerns, and called Mr. Medvedev's decision "disappointing."
The Bush administration insists the missile defense system does not target Russia.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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