Czechs to start missile shield talks with US, Europe on edge

The Czech Government announced on Wednesday that it will open formal negotiations with the United States to build part of a missile defense shield, even as opposition to the idea has stiffened elsewhere in Europe.

The Czech Government announced on Wednesday that it will open formal negotiations with the United States to build part of a missile defense shield, even as opposition to the idea has stiffened elsewhere in Europe.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters in Prague that his country “recognises the threats against which the defence shield should be set”. The proposed US defence system, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles launched from countries such as Iran and North Korea, has drawn heavy criticism, especially in Germany. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel has remained non-committal, other members of her coalition government and Opposition politicians have questioned whether Europe should play a role in developing the shield.

Last week, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned the defense system could divide Europe politically and would antagonise Russia, which has also complained vociferously about the plan. “Neither friendship nor peace can be forced with military superiority alone,” Steinmeier said in a speech to German Parliament.

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“A new Cold War between the USA and Russia, even if only conducted in words, damages the security interests of our country.” The leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), which shares power in the coalition with Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the United States should keep its missile interceptors out of Europe. “We need no new missiles in Europe,” Kurt Beck told Bild, Germany’s biggest daily paper, last week.

The plan remains controversial in both countries — critics worry that participation would invite retaliation from Russia or others — but leading legislators have said they are leaning toward participation. On Wednesday, the Czech Government took a firm step toward working out a deal, saying it had approved the start of formal negotiations on the radar base. Russia has said it considers the missile defense system a potential security threat, questioning whether the unarmed missile interceptors could be replaced by warheads in the future. Speaking at a security conference in Munich in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the proposed shield “could provoke nothing less than the beginning of a new nuclear era.”

US officials have tried to assuage Russia’s concerns, as well as those of European allies. After the Czech Government’s announcement on Wednesday, President Bush called up Putin in an attempt to persuade him that the missile interceptor was defensive in nature and not aimed at Russia, according to the Kremlin. The phone call apparently succeeded in cooling the dispute, at least temporarily. “The US President’s expression of readiness for detailed discussion on this subject with the Russian side, and for cooperation in the interests of joint security, was received with satisfaction,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

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