Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has announced that the US will stick with plans to place twenty long-range Patriot missiles on Polish soil, after meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington DC today.

The plans were part of an agreement which was originally signed between the Polish government and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last year. Doubts as to whether the deal would be carried out arose after US President Barack Obama stated that he would carefully look into the deal.

Sikorski assured that the missile deployment would move forward as planned, first as a temporary measure and later on a permanent basis.

Poland hopes that the missile shield will be in operation in 2012, the same year that the country plans to adopt the common European currency and co-host the European soccer championship. (RG)