CZECH REPUBLIC:The Czech prime minister says that he expects Nato to integrate a planned US missile defence system in eastern Europe into its own strategic armoury and hopes to finalise a deal before this summer to build long-range radar on Czech soil.
Mirek Topolanek said yesterday that an April summit in Romania could see Nato become involved in building the radar and a linked missile base in Poland, which Washington says are needed to track and destroy rockets fired by "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.
A role for Nato in the project would help defuse widespread opposition to it among Poles and Czechs, who fear their countries could be attacked by terrorist groups or by an angry Russia, which believes it is the real target of the US system.
"I am deeply convinced . . . that the summit in Bucharest this year will show a clear intertwining of the defences against short-, mid- and long-range missiles and the overall Nato defence strategy, and that missile defence will really be part of this system," Mr Topolanek said after meeting Henry Obering, head of the US missile defence agency.
"I believe it is clear already that this installation will contribute to a higher security of the Czech Republic but also to higher security globally. In this respect, I of course expect support from European countries," he added.
Gen Obering was in Prague for a conference of major defence firms and heard local businessmen and officials lobby hard for Czech access to the lucrative US defence market and co-operation with US companies in research, development and manufacture of military hardware.
In return for its co-operation, Poland wants state-of-the-art surface-to-air missiles from the Pentagon.
"The Americans know our expectations, we are waiting for a response," Polish defence minister Bogdan Klich said after returning from talks in Washington. Prague and Warsaw want to strengthen ties with the US, but fear riling a Russia whose top generals have threatened to target any missile defence system in eastern Europe.