On 20 August at 11.30, in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister (Sala Kolumnowa), the signing ceremony will take place of the agreement between the government of the Republic of Poland and the government of the United States of America regarding the placement in Poland of anti-ballistic defensive missile interceptors. The agreement will be signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, and US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

        In connection with the signing ceremony for the agreement between the government of the Republic of Poland and the government of the United States of America regarding the placement in Poland of defensive missile interceptors, the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is paying a visit to Warsaw on 19-20 August.

        The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received with satisfaction news of the release on 16th August 2008 of Alaksandar Kazulin, a presidential candidate in the Republic of Belarus presidential elections in 2006. In our view, this is a positive step, which testifies to the readiness of the Belarusian authorities to start the gradual process of democratising the country.

        On 19th August 2008 in Brussels, a meeting of the NATO North Atlantic Council is taking place at foreign minister level. The Polish delegation will be lead by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski.

        On 18.08.2008 in the town of Alton (Staffordshire) an accident occurred involving an English coach carrying 70 passengers. The passengers were citizens of Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Poland and one citizen of South Africa... One person died as a result of the accident (a Polish citizen) and 21 people were injured, including 12 Polish citizens. Information about those who were injured in the accident can be obtained by calling the following number 0044 776 997 5719

        The injured have been visited in hospital in Arad by the Polish Consul in Budapest. A Pole who is working locally and knows Romanian language is helping. It has been decided that 5 people will remain in hospital: four pupils and a teacher. The remaining 18 who were hurt and others who were not injured at all are ready to return to Poland in a coach provided by a Bulgarian coach company.

        On 14 August 2008 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an agreement between the government of the Republic of Poland and the government of the United States of America was initialled in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, regarding the placement in Poland of anti-ballistic defensive interceptor missiles. The agreement was initialled by Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrzej Kremer and Under-Secretary of State in the US State Department John Rood.

        The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hereby gives notice that on 14 August at 12.00 a CASA-295 military transport plane is leaving with medical aid provided by the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior and Administration in order to provide help for people who have been harmed in Georgia.

        On 13-14 August, a further round of Polish-US talks will take place in Warsaw regarding the placing of elements of the US anti-missile defence system in Poland.

        The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, is leading the Polish delegation at the extraordinary meeting of the European Union General Affairs and External Relations Council, taking place on 13th August in Brussels. The extraordinary GAERC session is devoted to discussing the current situation in Georgia.