They follow on from the launch of initial negotiations last week between Prague and Washington aimed at clearing up the legal status of US military personnel and civilians who could staff the new base.

A fresh round of discussions centred on the construction, maintenance, functioning and security of the radar station should begin between US and Czech officials on May 22.

The Czech radar should pair up with 10 interceptor missiles based in neighbouring Poland which, according to Washington, would help protect the US and its NATO allies against the threat of an attack from Iran.

Washington and Warsaw on Monday launched similar negotiations over the status of US troops likely to be stationed in Poland.

The extension of the US anti-missile shield to Central Europe headed the agenda when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Moscow on Monday.

Russia has violently attacked the US project to site bases in two of its former satellite states from the days of the Soviet Union.

Moscow has refused to accept US assurances that the missile shield is directed against Iran and other so-called "rogue states" and not itself.

It has announced the suspension of Moscow's participation in the Soviet-era Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, one of the cornerstones of European security in the post-Cold War era.

earlier related report
Poland, US end 'useful' first round of missile shield talks: official
Warsaw (AFP) May 14 - The United States and Poland on Monday wrapped up an opening round of talks on a US missile defence system that Washington wants to extend into central Europe.

"We are characterising these talks as useful initial discussions," US embassy spokesman Andrew Schilling told AFP. "Both sides exchanged their views and philosphies on how negotiations on missile defence should go forward and, more specifically, about the Status of Forces Agreement," covering US troops on foreign soil, he said.

The talks addressed US plans to site 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic as part of a missile defence shield. A delegation led by Robert Loftis, the State Department's senior adviser for security negotiations and agreements, represented Washington.

Parts of the system have already been deployed in the United States, Britain and Greenland.

Washington has said that any system installed in central Europe would be purely defensive and aimed at thwarting incoming airborne attacks from the Middle East, and Iran in particular.

But the plan to base US missiles and a powerful radar in Russia's back yard has cast a chill over relations with Moscow, which has warned it will retaliate if it perceives the system as a threat.

Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said in a speech to parliament Friday that Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski had signed an "instruction for negotiations", signalling the imminent start of talks on the missile system.

Kaczynski said the missile defence system "would pose no threat to our eastern neighbours, particularly not Russia".

Speaking during a visit to Slovakia, last Friday, he stressed that negotiations were in the early stages.

"From the moment that serious talks begin, we will keep our friends informed of any concrete decisions."

The talks between Washington and Warsaw would move up a level next week, when US Assistant Secretary of State John Rood leads a US delegation at a new round of negotiations in the Polish capital, Schilling said.

Email This Article

Related Links
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com