American Military Bases to Be Redeployed to Poland?

Moscow doubts the authenticity of information of intended redeployment of American military bases from Germany to Poland, said the Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko.

The ministry "is aware that this information appeared in a number of Polish media, and was followed by denials," he said. However, according to the mainframe Russia-NATO act, which was also a basis for the Rome Declaration on the new quality of Russia-NATO relations in the format of twenty, the Alliance's member states committed themselves "to refrain from additional permanent deployment of significant military force on the territory of new member states," Yakovenko emphasized.

"So far this commitment, which is of fundamental importance for our relations with the NATO, has been complied with," the diplomat pointed out. Moreover, it was confirmed once again in the statement of the Russia-NATO Ministers' Council in Prague on November 22, 2002, even in the context of the organization's forthcoming expansion, he said.

"We are closely following the process of fulfilling the political commitments by all participants of the Agreement on adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe," Yakovenko pointed out. Moscow proceeds from the assumption that "strict compliance with these commitments will help to speed up the ratification and coming into force of this agreement, which is fundamental for European security," he concluded.