WARSAW, Poland - Poland is reconsidering it's participation in Washington's European-based missile defence system.

Defence Minister Bogdan Klich says he wants to ensure the missile system serves Poland's interests. Klich's comments underlined the shift in thinking under the new pro-business government that took office Friday.

There is anxiety in Poland that Warsaw could further strain its already shaky ties with Moscow by agreeing to allow U.S. interceptor missiles on its territory.

Other Polish leaders, including new Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, have warned against provoking Russia without being sure that Washington offers compensating benefits.

The United States insists the interceptors are aimed at countering an alleged Iranian missile threat. Moscow scoffs at that, saying that plan undermines Russia's nuclear deterrent.

It threatens to take countermeasures, including basing short-range nuclear missiles in Belarus, which borders Poland.

Under former prime minister Warsaw Kaczynski, Warsaw began negotiations on Washington's request to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, frequently expressing strong support for the plan as a way to strengthen the transatlantic alliance.

But in an interview with the newspaper Dziennik, Klich said Poland must once again "weigh the benefits and costs of this project for Poland."

"And if that balance results unfavourably, we should draw a conclusion from those results," he said.


Source (canadian): CBC News, 19.11.2007