PRAGUE, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Prague expects the U.S. to present new specific U.S. missile defense proposals, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar has told RIA Novosti.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced in September that Washington was scrapping the Bush administration's plans for a missile shield in Central Europe due to a re-assessment of the threat from Iran. The missile shield would have seen the deployment of a radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland. Russia had fiercely opposed the plans as a national security threat.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to present the Obama administration's new missile defense proposals to Czech Republic during his visit to the country later this week.
"The U.S. delegation has already presented new modified missile defense architecture on September 17 in Prague. We said we were ready to further negotiate on the issue and are ready to take part in establishing a new modified missile defense system," Pojar said.
The Czech leadership "expects the U.S. to put forward specific proposals: we expect the Americans to give us their own perspective of further cooperation with Prague," he said.
"As soon as the Czech Republic receives these proposals, we would undoubtedly begin studying them. We have not yet received... such specific proposals from Washington," the diplomat went on.
He added that his country was in favor of close cooperation with Russia on missile defense.
"We have always supported the most extensive dialogue with Moscow, as it is in the interests of the Czech Republic," Pojar said.
