Czech Republic ready to take part in new missile defence plan

The Czech Republic has backed a new US missile defence plan meant to defend against possible threats from Iran or other states. The move came as US Vice President Joe Biden wrapped-up his visit to Central Europe on Friday, which included a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer in the Czech capital. Following talks between the two, the Czech prime minister confirmed that the Czech Republic is ready to take part in the new project. The new programme will focus on short and medium-range rockets and replace an earlier proposal by the previous US administration to site a radar base in the Czech Republic and interceptor rockets in Poland.

In Prague on Friday, US Vice President Biden stressed that the new system will strengthen NATO’s defences against future missile threats. He confirmed that a high-level defence team will travel to Prague in November to discuss the terms of Czech participation.

Author: Jan Velinger