Schwarzenberg said he is not certain whether Czech parliament would approve the U.S.
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CzechRep to decide on possible Russian radar controls - PM ... office, if at all. "If I don't succeed, I have to at least give a chance for the prime minister to find a better one," Schwarzenberg said in the interview for Reuters on Wednesday. The United States wants to build the radar base on the Brdy military grounds, 90 km southwest of Prague, and a base for ten interceptor missiles in Poland within its missile shield. The Central European elements are to protect the United States and a large part of the European continent against missiles that states like Iran might launch. Two thirds of the Czech public are still opposed to the radar base, according to the latest public opinion polls. Schwarzenberg said on Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would arrive in Prague to sign the radar treaties in early July. He, however, told Reuters that the Czech parliament would probably not deal with the issue before October.He said he hopes the treaty would be ratified by the end of this year. "I am not sure if we will succeed. Definitely the majority of the population is against it," Schwarzenberg said in Washington. He at the same time expressed hopes that enough deputies would realize that within a few years many countries would have missile-building know-how. "We have to prepare for that," he added. Schwarzenberg also said he was uncertain about whether Poland would follow through with its part of the missile shield deployment. Warsaw has been trying to set conditions for the stationing of the interceptor missiles on its soil. It mainly wants the United States to spend high amounts on upgrading the Polish air defence. However, U.S. officials indicated that Poland asked for too much, and warned that the interceptors could be placed elsewhere. If Poland backed out, "it would be lamentable," Schwarzenberg said. "I would really prefer to have Poland as our partner in this project. I hope very much that they will... find a solution with the United States," he stressed. Nevertheless, Schwarzenberg admitted that from a technical viewpoint, the interceptor missiles might be placed nearby in one of the Baltic countries. Schwarzenberg, who met foreign policy advisers to U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in Washington this week, said he believes that the United States would continue the missile defence programme no matter who is elected next president. While McCain strongly supports the development of missile defence programme, Obama said such a defence shield should be deployed only if the system proved working. Schwarzenberg said the steps to implement missile defence would be taken faster during a Republican administration, and the process would be slower with a Democratic administration. "But as it is a basic security interest of the United States, I do think the whole project will go on," Schwarzenberg concluded.
(Ceske Noviny)
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