U.S., Czech Republic Agree on Missile Defense Radar

Senior U.S. and Czech officials reached agreement Thursday on the terms of a U.S. plan to deploy a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic, the International Herald Tribune reported Friday (see GSN, April 2).

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schewarzenberg sealed the deal Thursday, but have not yet signed it.

The agreement is “an important step in our efforts to protect our nations and our NATO allies from the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction,” said a joint statement.

The U.S. plans calls for installing the radar station in the Czech Republic and a set of missile interceptors in neighboring Poland.  U.S. officials have said the system would defend against a future missile threat from Iran, but Russian leaders have complained bitterly about the plan.

“We still do not have a proper explanation of this project,” said Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Duma’s international affairs committee.  “It is not about the number of interceptors.  It is about undermining mutual confidence and trust” (Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune, April 3).

U.S. and Russian presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin met Saturday in Russia to discuss the issue, but Putin still expressed concern over the project.

“We discussed the issue of missile defense. Both sides expressed their interest in creating a system for responding to potential missile threats in which Russia and the United States and Europe will participate as equal partners,” says a joint statement released by the presidents.  “The Russian side has made clear that it does not agree with the decision to establish sites in Poland and the Czech Republic and reiterated its proposed alternative. Yet, it appreciates the measures that the U.S. has proposed and declared that if agreed and implemented such measures will be important and useful in assuaging Russian concerns” (White House release, April 6).

While the Czech agreement appears to be complete, a corresponding deal with Poland remains distant, the Tribune reported.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, elected last year, has demanded much more from the United States than did his predecessor or the Czech Republic, according to the Tribune.

While Czech leaders asked that Czech firms contribute the radar’s development and installation, Polish officials have demanded security guarantees, including improvements to the nation’s air-defense systems, and a larger U.S. role in defending the interceptor installation, which some Russian officials have vowed to target with nuclear weapons.

“We are not close to a final agreement,” said Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich.  “It is difficult to predict the conclusion of talks with the Americans” (Dempsey, International Herald Tribune, April 3).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.