Via World News Australia: Europe hails US missile move
Germany saw the move as a sign of hope for improved NATO relations with Moscow, frozen after Russia sent troops into Georgia last year and further damaged by its decision to recognise two breakaway Georgian regions.“I believe that this decision today is a sign of hope to get over difficulties with Russia,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has been a strong supporter of Moscow, told reporters in Brussels.
With her at a European Union summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described it as “an excellent decision from every point of view and I hope that our Russian friends will attach importance to this decision.”
Granted, that’s “Old Europe,” but these are hardly the kinds of things that one would expect them to say if, in fact, the move on the missile shield left the continent open to attack the way some commentators here in US are making it sound.
Further, from those directly affected:
“I received President Obama’s words and declarations with great satisfaction,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said following telephone talks with Obama.“The words I’ve heard from President Barack Obama — after the change in the decision on the matter of the missile shield — Poland has the opportunity to gain an exclusive position,” Tusk said.
Said statements, by the way, undercut the Politico headline: “Polish PM wouldn’t take U.S. calls, which, at a glance sounds more problematic than the story itself ends up to be:
Tusk said he declined to speak with President Obama during the night because he wanted to “properly prepare for the discussion.”A Polish Embassy spokesman noted that Tusk ultimately spoke to Obama, while Clinton spoke to the country’s foreign minister.
And from Czech President Vaclav Klaus:
“This decision of the American government did not come as a surprise to those who closely followed the signals over recent months,” he said in Prague.“I’m 100 percent convinced that this decision of the American government does not signal a cooling of relations between the United States and the Czech Republic,” Klaus said.
Both stories, by the way, discuss other possible security cooperation between the US and the Poles and Czechs (and hence, again: no “abandonment”).
BTW, it is worth noting that the Czech parliament hasn’t even ratified the missile defense deal. While it was signed in 2008 and approved by the upper house of the legislature, it had stalled out in the lower house.
Sphere: Related Content
September 18th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Klaus is on the right side of the spectrum, so this isn’t even a bunch of “lefty European governments” doing this. Several months back, when Klaus was going to assume the EU Presidency, it was seen as an embarrassment, because he’s a Euroskeptic at heart. He doesn’t seem to have done anything crazy while in the president role, though.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:40 am
[...] Knapp | Friday, September 18, 2009 Via Steven Taylor, we note that neither Poland nor the Czech Republic feel “abandoned” by Obama’s [...]
September 18th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Not sure the Poles and Czechs are seeing it that way
A few quotes:
Doesn’t sound like the people are particularly thrilled with the prospect. The leaders have to be more circumspect, but can get their digs in:
September 18th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
From what I understand of the region, though, the public opinion polls have been solidly anti missile defense for years. It was the politicians during the Bush administration who approved of this, to the chagrin of the populace.
So again, why should this be “concerning”? (And of course, there will be dissenters to this, but the popular support as a whole is behind this move by Obama in both Poland and the Czech Republic.)