US VP visit confirmed, mission unconfirmed

The Czech government has confirmed that American Vice President Joe Biden will be visiting the Czech Republic between October 20 and 24. A spokesman for the government said Mr Biden would be meeting with Prime Minister Jan Fischer and President Václav Klaus, as well as other political and civic leaders. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported on Tuesday that the aim of the visit was to strengthen relations between the countries after Washington’s decision several weeks ago to scrap a plan for a missile defence system in Central Europe. The paper also speculated that the trip could be an occasion for the two countries to discuss the potential use of Amercian fighter jets, with the lease on the Czech Republic’s fleet of Swedish Gripens to end in 2015. The vice president’s four-day trip to Europe will also include stops in Poland and Romania.