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Talks among Western leaders follow deaths in explosions in eastern Poland Western leaders in Indonesia for a G20 summit held emergency discussions over reports of one or more missiles landing in Polish territory near Ukraine. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden huddled with G7 and NATO partners at the summit venue in Bali, hours after the Polish government confirmed on Tuesday night that two citizens were killed in explosions in the city of Hrubieszow, near the border with Ukraine. The cause of the explosions was still unclear on Wednesday. Polish networks, including TVP and TVN, earlier said that the blasts were reportedly caused by Russian rockets falling on eastern Poland. Calling the explosions a missile strike, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it is "a true statement brought by Russia for the G20 summit". The Kremlin denied on Wednesday that Russian missiles had hit Poland, and the Defense Ministry called the reports a "provocation" intended to escalate tensions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN that he had no information about the incident. "Russian firepower has launched no strikes at the area between the Ukrainian-Polish border," the Defense Ministry said in statements posted online. The ministry added that "the wreckage published by Polish mass media from the scene in (the village of) Przewodow has no relation to Russian firepower". The ministry said on Wednesday that photos of the missile wreckage found in Poland indicated elements of the Ukrainian S-300. The Russian mission at the United Nations on Wednesday reiterated Moscow's denials of involvement in the incident, and claimed the reports were attempts to bring NATO directly into a military clash with Russia in Ukraine. Investigations continuing After the emergency meeting in Bali, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies were investigating the blast but that early information suggested it may not have been caused by a missile fired from Russia. Also in Bali, Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he respects Russia's denial of involvement in the deadly explosion in Poland, but added that the incident should be investigated. "This morning when I met with the German Chancellor Mr (Olaf) Scholz, we have also agreed that further investigation is needed," Erdogan said on Wednesday at a news conference at the G20 summit in Bali. Scholz also said on Wednesday that the attack should be fully investigated before conclusions are drawn. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing on Wednesday that all parties should "stay calm and exercise restraint under current circumstances". Polish President Andrzej Duda urged calm, saying there was no "unequivocal evidence" of where the missile came from. "Nothing indicates to us that there will be more," he said. He added that the blast appears to be an "unfortunate accident", not an "intentional attack". The Polish government called an emergency meeting of its cabinet and national security council, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki citing a "crisis situation". After the meeting, government spokesman Piotr Muller said: "We are increasing the readiness of some military units and other uniformed services." Poland is still analyzing the possibility of launching the NATO Article 4 procedure, but it seems it may not be necessary to use that measure, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday, referring to the provisions for consultations among member states at times of heightened security concerns. The NATO military alliance said it was "looking into" the unconfirmed reports linking the explosions in Poland to possible missile strikes, and was working closely with alliance member Warsaw. CNN quoted a NATO military official as saying that a NATO military aircraft was able to track the trajectory of the missile, with the tracking data also handed to Poland. NATO also held an emergency meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. The group's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the explosion was probably the result of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire. "An investigation into this incident is ongoing, and we need to await its outcome … But we have no indication that this was the result of a deliberate attack," Stoltenberg said after chairing the meeting of NATO ambassadors. "Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks." |
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