Ambassador says U.S. base not to harm Czech-Russian relations

The possible stationing of a U.S. radar system in the Czech Republic and Poland is not likely to harm Czech-Russian relations, CTK quoted Czech Ambassador to Moscow Miroslav Kostelka as saying on Friday.

Kostelka said that Czech President Vaclav Klaus would possibly discuss the U.S. radar base with Russian politicians, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his visit to Moscow in late April.

"Both presidents are pragmatic enough to reach mutual understanding and prevent the issue from being crucial for further development of the relations between the Czech Republic and Russia, " Kostelka said.

According to the embassy, there were not any official diplomatic protests registered from Russia in line with the radar base so far.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and his Poland counterpart said after talks on Monday that the two countries would probably agree to the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system in their territory.

The same day, Russian missile forces commander Nikolai Solovtsov warned that Russia "would be capable of firing at U.S. missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic should they decide to host them."

Kostelka said it was unacceptable for the Czech Republic and Poland that Russian rockets could be aimed at the planned U.S. military bases in Central Europe, referring to Solovtsov's warning.

It was possible that the statement by Solovtsov was caused by questions from journalists, Kostelka added.

Washington wanted to install up to 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland and an advanced radar station in the Czech Republic, which allegedly were designed to counter the potential missile threat from Iran.

Source: Xinhua