Representatives of the Czech Republic and the United States ended a new round of negotiations on the bilateral treaty to specify the legal framework for American soldiers' stay at the planned U.S. radar base on Czech soil, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The three-day talks that started from Tuesday concerned the draft SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) treaty that specifies Czechs' access to the base, conditions for car traffic, the use of weapons as well as the legal status of the base and its staff, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
Both countries' delegations have been discussing the treaty's text for several months.
"The environmental protection at the base and in its surroundings will also be dealt with," Jan Pejsek from the Defense Ministry's press section said earlier.
The two delegations were headed by Ivan Dvorak, head of the Czech Defense Ministry's section of defense policy and strategies, and Jackson McDonald from the U.S. Department of State.
On Friday, both countries' diplomats will continue discussing the main treaty, defining the missile defense functions, the radar's purpose, the size of the base, its command and its operation's control.
The United States initiated the plan to deploy an anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland earlier this year. Washington expects that Prague will make its final decision next year.
A recent opinion poll showed that most Czechs oppose the establishment of the base.
Source: Xinhua
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