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WORLD / Europe
Russia: Czechs make "big mistake" on US radar
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-21 20:20
MOSCOW - Russia's military chief told the Czech Republic on Tuesday it
would be making a "big mistake" to host a US missile defence shield on
its soil and urged Prague to delay a decision until a new US president is
elected.
The Czech Republic is considering whether to accept a radar station which
would form part of a US missile shield -- a system that the US said was
designed to intercept and destroy missiles from "rogue states" but which
Moscow sees as a threat to its security.
"We say it will be a big mistake by the Czech government to put this
radar site on Czech territory," Yuri Baluyevsky, the Russian military
chief of staff, told reporters after meeting Czech Deputy Defence
Minister Martin Bartak.
He said the Czech Republic should hold off making a decision until after
the US presidential election, scheduled for late 2008 to replace
President George W. Bush.
"A decision will be made by the Czech side only after the evaluation of
all conditions, technical and otherwise," Baluyevsky said.
"I and my Russian colleagues simply ask that that process continue
through to October-November of 2008, and I think you can all guess why."
Asked by a reporter to clarify, he said: "I do not exclude that a new
administration in the United States will re-evaluate the current
administration's decisions on missile defence."
The missile shield is the latest in a series of moves by Moscow's former
Warsaw Pact allies to embrace NATO, effectively moving the West's
military capabilities closer to Russia.
He said the Czech stance was based on political rather than military
considerations.
"There are unfounded allegations that Russia is attempting to disrupt the
peace and tranquility of Western Europe."
Bartak stressed that the Czech government had not yet made a decision.
"The most important thing I can say is that we have not yet said the
final word on this and we will not until we have explored all avenues,"
he said.
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