Posted by
Aaron J Alvarez on Monday, November 17, 2008 12:46:47 AM
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is backing down from
comments critical of a planned U.S. missile defense system in
Europe.
At
a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday, Sarkozy said
the missile shield plans are misguided and will not make Europe safer.
Those comments had been the strongest to date by an American ally
against the missile-defense plans - and undercut the rationale behind
President George W. Bush's European security
strategy.
But after Saturday's global financial
summit with other world leaders, Sarkozy said: "Ultimately, it could be
a complement against a missile threat coming from elsewhere, for
example, Iran."
The plans for using sites in Poland
and the Czech Republic have infuriated Russia despite the Bush
administration's insistence that they are aimed at protecting Europe
from Iran.
President-elect Barack Obama has not been
explicit about his intentions on European missile defense, saying it
would be prudent to "explore the possibility" but expressing some
skepticism about the technical capability of U.S. missile
defenses.
Moscow sees the defense plans as a Cold
War-style project that could eliminate Russia's nuclear deterrent or
spy on its military installations. Much of Western Europe is nervous
about the idea of such major defensive weaponry stationed around the
continent.
But Poland and the Czech Republic, where
bad memories of Soviet domination run deep, hope Obama follows through
on the plans.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said
Saturday it wasn't Sarkozy's place to take a stand on missile
defense.
Tusk said missile defense is a matter
strictly between the U.S. and Poland, and doesn't involve France or any
other "third parties."
"The president of France
Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his view but it will have no influence on
what will happen with the project," he was quoted by the Polish news
agency PAP as telling reporters in Warsaw.
"On the
issue of the shield, I don't expect either commentary or actions from
third parties," Tusk said.