Russians Permanently Unwelcome by Czechs, Poles
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PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Czech and Polish officials say their countries oppose a permanent Russian presence at planned American missile defense facilities on their territories.
The Czech foreign minister, Tomas Pojar, and the Polish undersecretary of state, Przemyslaw Grudzinski, said in a statement released yesterday that they could only let Russian officials in on the basis of reciprocity.
The American missile defense plan calls for a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of a missile shield that Washington says is intended to deal with the threat from Iran.
Russia strongly opposes the plan and says it represents a threat to its national security.
The two countries have offered to allow Russian inspections.
Also yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that includes money for construction next year on a site for missile defense interceptors in Poland but far less than the Bush administration wants.
A main Defense Department spending bill that included the defense system in Europe also would fund fully the request for a radar site in the Czech Republic, opening the door for the next president to begin building a the system.
The bill is a boost for a project that has been a serious source of tension in the deteriorating relationship between America and Russia. Moscow opposes the deployment of American military assets so close to its borders and has argued that the system undermines the deterrent of its giant nuclear arsenal, a charge America has dismissed as absurd.
In a concession by House Democrats, the bill would also allow the Defense Department to begin buying some parts for the interceptors planned for Poland. It would however, require the Defense Department to demonstrate through a series of tests that the interceptors could work before they could be bought and deployed.
The concession could mitigate possible delays in deploying the system. Some proponents of the system have warned that the testing requirement could cause the defense department to miss by years its goal of deploying the system by 2013. The Bush administration argues that a quick deployment is necessary to counter threats from Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear enrichment programs.
