Czechs to present counter proposal on radar deal

The Czech government will present a counter-proposal to the US radar treaty, outlining the conditions under which the Czech Republic would be prepared to host a US radar base on its territory, deputy foreign minister Tomas Pojar said at the start of a second round of talks with US officials in Prague. The Czech Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministries should be ready to present their own draft proposal within two months, outlining what counter-services the United States should provide in exchange for being able to site the radar on Czech territory. "For tactical and diplomatic reasons it would not be good to communicate our ideas to the media," Mr. Pojar said. The talks on the radar base are expected to last until the end of the year. The United States wants to locate a radar base in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in neighbouring Poland to counter a possible missile attack threat by Iran. Neither country has as yet made a firm commitment.