Russia not to pressurise Poland on shield

Moscow, Jan 21 (UNI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was not planning to put pressure on Poland on the US deployment of missile shield.

''We are not going to exert pressure on anyone. We want our concerns to be understood,'' he told mediapersons after his talks with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Moscow.

''Russia has no veto right on decisions made by the Polish side,'' he said, adding, ''We want them to understand our position.'' ''We have appreciated the readiness of the new Polish government to hold consultations on this issue,'' he pointed out.

Mr Lavrov said he told the polish minister that Russia understands that Poland will make a decision based on its own security interests and also expressed hope that it will take into consideration pan-European security issues.

Mr Sikorski said he was willing to continue the dialogue with Russia over the missile shield but said that unlike Russia, his country had neither ballistic nor nuclear weapons.

Mr Sikorski is on a working visit to Moscow to prepare for the visit of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk who is expected to arrive in Moscow on February 8, amid the improvement of relations between Russia and Poland recently.

UNI XC SKB VC1938