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Kremlin Vows “Retaliatory Steps” Against “Aggressive” US Troop, Drone Build-up In Poland
Kremlin Vows “Retaliatory Steps” Against “Aggressive” US Troop, Drone Build-up In Poland
Russian lawmakers have said the new US-Poland joint declaration unveiled yesterday, which will see 1,000 more US troops sent to Poland from Germany along with military drones, will force the Kremlin to take “retaliatory steps” against what the Russian parliamentary statement called US “further large-scale deployments”.
One lawmaker went so far as to say the Russian military “would make Poland a target in the event of a conflict,” according to Reuters.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister also warned of Washington’s “aggressive intentions” following Trump’s pledge to Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday during a White House visit.
One Russian official, identified as the deputy head of the upper house of parliament’s international affairs committee, told the Interfax news agency: “In the event of any conflict, God forbid, the territory of Poland would become a clear target for a retaliatory strike, if there was suddenly an attack on us,” as cited in Reuters, while others warned of a new Cuban missile crisis scenario but this time on Russia’s border.
Per the Reuters report, one top parliamentary official went so far as to invoke a nuclear scenario:
Another lawmaker, ex-commander of Russia’s special forces Vladimir Shamanov, who now runs the lower house of parliament’s defense committee, said he was concerned about the U.S. drones because of their potential to carry nuclear weapons.
“The world is gradually slipping toward a dangerous moment comparable to the Caribbean crisis,” Shamanov said, using the Russian expression for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis – a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
“…We will be forced to take retaliatory measures and we have them in our armory,” Interfax cited him as saying.
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The road away from fossil fuels
The road away from fossil fuels
Katowice. Photo by Jadwiga (Flickr)President Andrzej Duda’s authoritarian government can expect a rough political ride in December, when politicians, diplomats and campaigners stream into Katowice, Poland, for the next UN summit on climate change.
Poland’s so-called climate policy – to aim for “carbon neutrality” by discounting emissions from the coal industry with carbon sucked up by its forests – will face richly-deserved criticism. How loudly that will be heard on the streets is a different matter: Poland’s parliament has banned “spontaneous” gatherings in Katowice during the summit.
Donald Trump, who last year withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will also be the target of derision, not only from demonstrators but from some politicians inside the talks. The main business at Katowice (the 24th conference of parties to the 1992 Rio climate convention, or COP24) will be to finalise a “rulebook” to monitor government promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions (“nationally determined contributions” or NDCs) made in Paris.
The Paris agreement acknowledged that global temperatures should be kept “well below” 2 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels, and that 1.5 degrees is preferable. Campaigners use every phrase in the document to challenge pro-fossil-fuel policies; to resist attempts to make the global south pay the price for warming; and to promote “just transition” that combines the move from fossil fuels with struggles for social justice.
While fighting all these battles, it’s important not to neglect the larger picture. The Paris agreement is most significant not as a beacon around which the world can gather to stop climate change, but as the outcome of a disastrous process of failure to reverse the growth of fossil fuel consumption, the main cause of warming. At Paris, the idea of binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions was finally abandoned, in favour of voluntary commitments.
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Polish Defense Minister denies wanting US nukes after deputy says otherwise
Polish Defense Minister denies wanting US nukes after deputy says otherwise
The NATO alliance allows non-nuclear countries to borrow US missiles.
Deputy Defense Minister Tomasz Szatkowski made the statement during an interview with the private Polish broadcaster Polsat, as cited by AP. He said that the ministry is contemplating whether to ask for access to the nuclear sharing program, which would allow Warsaw to boost its defenses with nukes.
This is the first time that a Polish official has voiced an intent to host nuclear weapons on the country’s soil.
However, the Polish Defense Ministry issued a statement on Sunday that Warsaw has not asked for and is not looking to host NATO nuclear weapons on its territory.
Former Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak (2011-2015) said that talks about his country’s possible participation in the Nuclear Sharing program had tainted the nation’s image.
“The last few days have become a great pity for Poland’s credibility. The world is looking at us. If we continue to hold a debate on access to nuclear weapons, the allies will not lend even a PlayStation, let alone serious weapons,”Siemoniak said.
Three NATO member states possess nuclear arsenals of their own: France, the UK and the US. Other countries could take part in the US-led Nuclear Sharing program, which involves hosting part of the US nuclear arsenal on a country’s territory in return for that country receiving training on how to handle and put to use nuclear weapons.
Poland has been one of NATO’s staunchest allies, since joining the alliance in 1999. It has also been keen to establish further links and in September Poland’s parliament gave the green light to President Andrzej Duda to ratify a technical agreement on establishing a US anti-missile base in Redzikowo. Under the NATO-backed plan, the facility should be operational by 2018.
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