Putin, Klaus meet in Moscow

Czech President Vaclav Klaus - on his first official state visit to Russia - has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Their discussion on Friday focused on Czech-Russian relations but most notably on the United State's plans to deploy a tracking radar in the Czech Republic as part of a broader missile defence shield. The plan is one that Mr Klaus has backed but which Moscow strongly opposes. During their meeting Mr Klaus said that the base was not intended against Russia. But speaking with journalists after the meeting Mr Putin indicated he had not been convinced by Mr Klaus's reasoning. He called the US plan to install a rocket base in Poland a "similar threat" to the deployment of Pershing missiles in Europe. The rocket base in Poland is to complement the radar base in the Czech Republic if both countries reach agreement with the United States.