Czech president Klaus talks US missile defence in Poland

Jul 10, 2007, 11:11 GMT

Warsaw - Czech President Vaclav Klaus began a three-day official visit to Poland Tuesday in talks with his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski on the controversial United States plan to install a missile defence shield in their neighbouring countries.

Developments following the June European Union summit, focused on a new constitution for the bloc and energy security, are also due to figure on the leaders' agenda, according to a spokesperson for the Polish president.

In June, the Czech Republic agreed to a US proposal to station anti-missile radar sites on its territory. However, Poland, where the US plans to install ten anti-ballistic missile silos, is yet to give a definitive answer.

Next week Kaczynski is due to hold talks on the controversial plan in Washington.

Despite assurances from the US that the missile shield is designed only to ward off terror attacks from so-called rogue states such as Iran and South Korea, Russia vehemently opposes the project.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used Cold War-era rhetoric threatening his country will have to point its missiles at European targets should the US push ahead with the missile shield plan in Central Europe.

Both Poland and the Czech Republic are former Soviet satellites which joined the NATO Western defence alliance in 1999 and the EU in 2004.

President Klaus is due to meet Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczyski later Tuesday, while on Wednesday and Thursday he and his wife will be the guests of the President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria for a more relaxed visit to the Polish countryside.