The anti-missile system, which is to include a radar base in the Czech Republic, is to be linked with NATO so that all allies are protected, U.S. ambassador to NATO Victoria Nuland said on Friday.

The U.S. would like to cooperate with the Czech Republic, Poland, Britain and Denmark and then to connect the two systems also with NATO so that they cover the entire alliance, the public broadcaster Czech Television (CT) quoted Nuland as saying.

By means of the radar base in Britain and another base Washington wants to build in Greenland, the USA will be able to intercept the missiles heading from Iran to the USA, Nuland said

The defense system was to cover all of U.S. allies, she said, adding that this was the principle of NATO.

According to Nuland, both systems should be used, both against the short-range and long-range missiles.

The U.S. has first started the talks with the Czech Republic and Poland as it wants to build a part of its infrastructure in these countries, Nuland said.

If an agreement is reached, everything will be transparently explained in NATO, she added.

Nuland said that preliminary decisions about the connection of the two systems could be passed at the NATO summit in Bucharest next April.

If there is cooperation on the system against long-range missiles and if bilateral talks continue, negotiations about the link of the systems could start in spring, she said.

Nuland's statements have not changed the position of the Czech senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) who also want the radar base to be part of NATO defense. Besides, they want the issue to be decided on by people in a referendum.

The Czech political scene has been split on the issue. The senior ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) support the radar's location on Czech territory, the SZ hesitates and wants NATO and the EU to become more involved in the project.

Most of the CSSD members are opposed to the project and the junior opposition Communists (KSCM) are completely against it.

Most of the Czech public is still against the plan.

The U.S. made a formal request in January to place a radar base in a military area southwest of Prague and 10 interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland as part of a planned global missile defense shield, which Washington claims will only target possible missile threats from Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK).

The first round of Czech-U.S. talks on the radar base was completed in May. The talks are to last several months. The U.S. expects the Czechs to give a clear final answer on the base after January 1, 2008.

Source: Xinhua