The Czech-U.S. negotiations on the planned U.S. radar base on Czech soil should go somewhat back, possibly to the very beginning if the complementary base with interceptor missiles finally were not built in Poland, Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova said Sunday.
In a program on Czech Television (CT), Parkanova did not rule out that the missile defense radar installation could operate even without the Polish base.
Nevertheless, this would be a completely new situation, different from what has been planned so far, she added.
"Last year we started the negotiations in expectation of a radar being built in our country and a base with missiles in Poland," she said, adding that it is the reason why it would be necessary to assess things such as the possible new variant's technical possibilities.
Czech Deputy Defense Minister Tomas Pojar recently said that even the radar base alone, without the missiles in Poland, would enhance the Czech Republic's security.
Washington conducts negotiations with Prague and Warsaw separately. For the time being it seems that the Czechs will sign the agreements on the radar project with the United States sooner than the Poles, who might do so only after six months at the earliest.
According to Parkanova, another round of the Czech-U.S. negotiations on the SOFA agreement (Strategic Framework and the Status of Forces Agreement) that creates a legal framework for the stay of the U.S. soldiers on Czech soil will be held on April 9-11.
Source:Xinhua
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