(dpa)
- The signing of a deal to place a US missile-defence site in the Czech
Republic, once tentatively set for May, has been postponed, Czech officials
said Monday.
Remarks by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek suggested that the delay was due to
continuing talks on a related US-Czech agreement on the legal status of
American troops at the planned radar base.
Czech officials initially said that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
could stop in Prague to sign the main treaty in early May. On Monday, Topolanek
said early June was a more likely time.
It would be "more effective if she arrives to sign both agreements,"
he said.
The main US-Czech agreement was announced April 3 during a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.
Czech and US negotiators made progress during three days of talks on the
accompanying Status of Forces Agreement last week, but need to meet again, the
Czech Defence Ministry has said.
The Czech Foreign Ministry had a different explanation for the delay, saying
Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg needed to coordinate their
schedules.
"We are looking for other dates," spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova said.
Both missile-defence treaties require approval in the Czech parliament, where
Topolanek's centre-right government will have to fight for support of the
project.
Washington is also in talks with Poland on placing 10 interceptor missiles as
part of the system on Polish soil. The plan to build a missile shield and US
bases in the former Soviet-bloc nations has angered Russia.