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Moscow: Russia should have no concerns about Poland hosting part of a planned US missile defence system, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying on Wednesday.
Tusk, who is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, said Poland would never pose a threat to its neighbour and he hoped to boost trade between the two countries.
"It is funny for anyone to think that Poland poses a threat to Russia," Tusk was quoted as saying. "We do not want this project to arouse negative worries for our neighbours."
Washington says it wants to locate 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar installation in the Czech Republic under a plan to defend Europe and the United States against a possible missile attack from Iran and other "rogue states".
Unspecified measures
Russia opposes the plan and says the shield is a threat to Russian security. Moscow has said it will take unspecified measures if construction begins on the system's infrastructure.
"I am personally very anxious that a Polish-American agreement on the issue will not arouse either doubts or concerns on the part of third countries," Tusk said.
Tusk took office in late November from Jaroslaw Kaczynksi, who led a two-year government that became involved in a series of rows with Moscow, leading to a Polish veto on the start of talks on a new EU-Russia agreement.
Kaczynksi's twin brother, Lech, is Poland's president and has supported closer ties with the United States.
Poland's new centre-right government said earlier this month it would not agree to host the site unless Washington committed to boosting Polish air defences.
Washington said it supported modernising its air defences, but did not say how.
Tusk also called on Russia to think again about its plans for a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea and said it could be built for a fraction of the cost across Poland, he told Interfax.
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