WARSAW, Nov 8: President-elect Barack Obama told Polish President Lech Kaczynski he would go ahead with plans to build a missile defence shield in eastern Europe despite threats from Russia, Warsaw said on Saturday.

“Barack Obama has underlined the importance of the strategic partnership between Poland and the United States, he expressed his hope of continuing the political and military cooperation between our two countries.

“He also said the anti-missile shield project would go ahead,” said a statement issued by Kaczynski after the two men spoke by telephone.

Warsaw and Washington signed a deal on Aug 14 to base part of a US missile shield in Poland, amid Moscow’s opposition and mounting East-West tensions over Georgia.

The US wants to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland plus a radar facility in the neighbouring Czech Republic by 2011-2013 to complete a system already in place in the United States, Greenland and Britain.

Washington says the shield endorsed by Nato in February is aimed at fending off potential attacks by so-called “rogue states” such as Iran, and is in no way aimed at Russia.

The United States warns that Iran could develop long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads by 2015-2017.

The plan has enraged Moscow, master of Poland and the then Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Both countries broke from the crumbling communist bloc in 1989, joined Nato in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Regarding it as a grave security threat, the Kremlin has threatened to aim its own missiles at the planned US installations.

Just hours after Obama’s victory speech, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would station short-range missile systems in its Kaliningrad enclave wedged between Poland and fellow EU member Lithuania.—AFP