Polish, NATO top officials gather for US missile base opening in Poland
President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday the whole world will no longer see Poland as a Russian zone of influence, as he joined other Polish, NATO, and US senior officials at the opening of the US anti–ballistic missile base in northern Poland.
Andrzej Duda added that the opening ceremony for the military facility in Redzikowo, which had been delayed numerous times, was an extremely „important, symbolic and touching” event for him.
In his speech, President Duda also said that the first US permanent military anti–missile base became news to him in 2008 when the base's construction process kicked off. At the time, he served as minister in the office of the former Polish President Lech Kaczynski. He added that Kaczynski, who tragically died in a plane crash in Russia in April 2010, was a strong supporter of the idea of placing this US military base on Polish soil, pointing to security as the primary reason.
The President added, used to say that, despite the fact that it would be an anti–ballistic military complex which would not directly defend Poland as its purpose was to protect other European states from ballistic projectiles launched from the Middle East, but nevertheless he saw its importance for Poland.(PAP)