Warsaw (PMN)—Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski and U.S. Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher were to sign the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) regarding U.S. military in Poland on December 17, 2009. The document, which had been negotiated for 14 months, was not immediately approved, however, due to a difference in the interpretation of the regulations concerning the jurisdiction over the U.S. soldiers. Unofficially, the situation related to "editing and translation mistakes." Corrections were made and the agreement was ultimately signed.

According to SOFA, U.S. troops will service Patriot missiles that are to be integrated into Poland’s national security system. The first troop rotation to service the Patriot missile system is expected to arrive in Poland by the end of March, 2010.

The previous U.S. administration’s plans to place 10 long-range ground-based interceptor missiles in Poland and a fixed-site radar station in the Czech Republic were shelved in September. Due to a reassessment of the threat from Iran, Washington announced a new scheme for a more flexible system, with a combination of land and sea-based interceptors based on the Standard Missile interceptor, SM-3. Under the new plan, the U.S. would place ship-based SM-3s in the North and Mediterranean seas in 2011, and mobile land-based SM-3s in Central Europe by 2015.

Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the deployment of a battery of U.S. Patriot missiles in Poland will have an entirely defensive character and will not be directed against Russia. Interviewed on France 24 news channel, he said that Polish-Russian relations have improved significantly with Donald Tusk at the helm of the government.