Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek
Photo: Reuters
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Czech Republic Won’t Ask Russia for Permission to Host U.S. Radar Station
The Czech Republic would independently decide whether to site the U.S. radar station, without taking into consideration the opinion of Russia.
“We don’t want to belong again to the sphere of Russian influence. We don’t want to belong to a group of countries which have to ask Russia for permission if they want to ensure their own defense,” Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said in Washington February 26, Reuters reported.
In the United States, Topolanek is discussing the details of stationing the U.S. radar in the Czech Republic. Prague will cooperate with Moscow on many issues but will decide its internal affairs alone, the prime minister made clear.
On February 1, Poland agreed in principal about stationing the U.S. interceptors. Both Poland and the Czech Republic want to finalize plans on the U.S. missile shield by the April summit of NATO that will be held in Bucharest.
Washington intends to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Brdy area in the Czech Republic in an effort to shield Europe from the possible missile attack. Moscow, however, believes that the shield will be directed against Russia and threatens to re-aim missiles at those facilities.
www.kommersant.com
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