Readout of Secretary of Defense Hagel's Call with Polish Min

[admin]

Readout of Secretary of Defense Hagel's Call with Polish Minister of Defense Tomasz Siemoniak

Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:

"Today, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak to express his condolences for the loss this week of a Polish soldier serving with international forces in Afghanistan. Secretary Hagel thanked Poland for its steadfast support of the ISAF mission, and its continued leadership in NATO and within the European community.

"Secretary Hagel also expressed his appreciation for Poland's understanding of changes to the European Phased Adaptive Array missile defense system. Evolving global threats, specifically in North Korea, required reallocation of resources affecting Phase Four of the implementation, but Secretary Hagel reassured Poland of the United States' continuing commitment to European missile defense. The Secretary reiterated that plans for phases one through three remain unchanged.

"Finally, Secretary Hagel lauded Polish efforts to modernize its armed forces. He repeated the United States' appreciation for the close working relationship we enjoy with Poland, and expressed his desire to further deepen U.S.-Polish ties."






U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

On the Web: http://www.defense.gov/releases/
Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public Contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1