Czech and U.S. representatives completed a new round of negotiations on the SOFA bilateral agreement that defines the legal framework of the U.S. radar base and possible stay of the base's U.S. staff on Czech territory, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
"These talks concern only the status of the personnel of the U.S. armed forces," head of the Czech delegation Ivan Dvorak said.
He said that the talks would continue next months until the final text of the SOFA agreement is agreed on.
Dvorak heads the Defense Ministry's defense policy and strategy section. The U.S. delegation was headed by Jackson McDonald from the U.S. State Department.
The talks did not deal with any possible presence of Russian representatives at the base, Dvorak said.
This issue would have to be agreed on between Czech and Russian politicians at first, he added.
"Such talks are not on the agenda in light of the most recent statements of Russian representatives," Dvorak pointed out.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates talked about a possible presence of Russian experts at the U.S. base during his visit to Prague last month.
However, a number of Czech politicians consider the presence of Russian military experts at the planned U.S. missile defense base on Czech soil unacceptable. They said that such an approach could threaten Czech sovereignty.
The SOFA agreement deals, among others, with Czech access to the radar base, use of weapons and the legal status of the base and its staff, including U.S. soldiers.
The two countries discussed SOFA in mid-September when their representatives agreed only on some of its parts, not yet all the points.
On Monday and Tuesday next week, Czech and American diplomats will discuss another agreement on the radar base. The Czech Republic is to be represented by Deputy Foreign Ministry Tomas Pojar.
The Czech Republic is in talks with the United States on the missile defense plan. 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.
Washington initiated the plan to deploy an anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland earlier this year.
Russia sharply opposed against the U.S. plan. Moscow said the deployment was aimed at Russia, rather than Iran as Washington had claimed.
Source: Xinhua
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