Pat Dollard | Young Americans

(AFP) - Washington on Wednesday made Poland a new military cooperation proposal in line with a condition set by Warsaw for hosting a controversial US missile shield, the Polish foreign ministry said.

“The American side has given Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski a document related to military cooperation,” ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski told AFP.

Paszkowski said the document was a “non-paper” — diplomatic jargon for an informal proposal — but did not elaborate.

“The negotiations will continue,” he said.

Washington wants to site 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a tracking radar in the neighbouring Czech Republic by 2012.

Both are part of a system it says is aimed at protecting the United States and its allies from attack by countries it designates as “rogue states”, such as Iran.

Russia strongly opposes the shield plan, saying the missile system would be a grave threat to its national security, and has threatened to aim its own warheads at Poland and the Czech Republic.

Washington has dismissed Russia’s arguments, but Moscow is also angered by what it sees as further Western inroads into what during the Cold War-era was the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence.

Poland and the Czech Republic broke free from the crumbling communist bloc in 1989, and have become staunch allies of the United States. They joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

The Polish government has been seeking extra security guarantees it if allows the US silos on its soil, amid concerns over the potential risks.

Warsaw is believed to be seeking to boost Poland’s air defence with US anti-missile systems beyond those foreseen for the shield, as well as asking for a long-term military aid package and a bilateral security accord.

US negotiators are in Poland this week for a new round of talks. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is due to meet with US President George W. Bush in Washington on March 10.

Tusk had said Monday that the issue was “close to a good solution,” but cautioned that “this solution must also be of benefit to Poland, not only to the United States”.

“Either our conditions will be fulfilled … or there will be no shield,” he warned.

On Wednesday, he hammered home the message, telling a Polish students’ conference that he wanted a deal that would enable him to say “hand on heart” that Poland would “be safer, not less safe,” if the silos were installed.

The United States’ talks with the Czech Republic have gone at a faster pace.

In Washington Wednesday, Bush and visiting Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said they were only “three words” from a deal.

Topolanek later explained the hold-up related to environmental guidelines for any US installation in his country.