News of Radio Prague

NATO summit ends in Prague

The summit meeting of NATO leaders ended on Friday in Prague after two days of talks on the enlargement, transformation and modernisation of the alliance. At the summit, leaders of the 53-year-old Western defence organisation agreed to take in new members, create a new strike force, acquire new equipment and build new partnerships extending to Central Asia and the Caucasus.

On Thursday the alliance made a historic decision to invite seven former Eastern Bloc nations to join in a landmark expansion. NATO leaders also decided to create a rapid Response Force which is expected to be used in global anti-terror missions and operations against so-called rogue states, and agreed to back UN efforts to disarm Iraq. On Friday representatives of the 19 NATO states continued talks by meeting their counterparts from 27 East European and Central Asian nations that have partnership accords with the alliance.

NATO anti-terror goal in Russia's interests: Ivanov

The Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov welcomed NATO's planned strategic anti-terror reorientation, saying this made the Alliance's eastward expansion compatible with Moscow's security interests. "We consider that this transformation of NATO should be welcomed," Mr Ivanov said following a meeting with the 19 alliance foreign ministers. Mr Ivanov was reacting to NATO's historic decision on Thursday to invite seven former communist states to join the organisation and to set up a 20,000 member anti-terror rapid Response Force for worldwide operations. Three of the states joining NATO - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - were part of the former Soviet Union. The other four future members are Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Ukraine says it will support probe into alleged radar sale to Iraq

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko said on Friday that his government was cooperating with a probe into allegations that Kiev approved the sale of Kolchuga early warning radar systems to Iraq. However Mr Zlenko cautioned that Ukraine could not give out all data on Kolchuga sales. British and American experts have been investigating the accusation that Kiev authorised the radar sale to Baghdad. The Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma attended a NATO partnership meeting on Friday despite misgivings voiced by the alliance's Secretary General George Robertson. NATO had told Mr Kuchma he would not be welcome at the meeting and downgraded separate talks with Ukraine from head of state to foreign minister level, but could not prevent Mr Kuchma attending the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting.

Robertson harangued by protesters

A minor incident occurred during a news conference concluding the two-day NATO summit. Two men stood up at the end of the conference, shouting in Russian "NATO is worse than the Gestapo". One of the men took his jacket off to show a Nazi armband and tomatoes were thrown towards the alliance secretary-general George Robertson, who was surrounded by three bodyguards. Security officials hauled the protesters out of the room, took their passports and led them away.

Schroeder indicates US can use bases, overfly rights in Iraq war

The German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder used the summit to end a diplomatic row with the United States over Iraq. President Bush had been deeply angered during Germany's election campaign over Mr Schroeder's outspoken opposition to US threats of military force against Iraq. After months of refusing to say if the US would be allowed to use its military bases in Germany and overfly rights in the event of an Iraq war, Schroeder told reporters: "We don't have any plans to put limits on the movements of our friends." But the German leader repeated his pledge not to send troops to participate in military strikes against Baghdad. "Military means must be used only as a last resort for fighting international terrorism," he said, adding: "There will not be any German military participation."

Croatian president praises Bush's encouragement on reforms

The Croatian President Stipe Mesic said on Friday that the US President George Bush had encouraged Croatia, Macedonia and Albania to carry out reforms necessary for NATO membership, after the three states were left out of the latest NATO expansion in Prague. Mr Mesic said on Thursday that Croatia was aware it was not yet ready for membership of the alliance because it had not reached all democratic and other required standards. He blamed the delay on Croatia's war of independence in the 1990s. Croatia is a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme, which is seen as a first step towards eventual full membership in the alliance. One of the most important and controversial issues for Croatia is cooperation with the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Bush continues trip to Russia

After meeting Czech veterans from the Gulf War and former members of the Czech military unit stationed in Kuwait, the US President George W. Bush left for Russia where he met the Russian President Vladimir Putin. US officials said Mr Bush would pledge to respect Russia's economic interests in any military action to disarm Iraq, and try to soften the blow of NATO's expansion. A senior US official said Mr Bush had chosen to visit Mr Putin right after the summit "to demonstrate that what happened today is a new chapter, and it is a new chapter that is favourable for Russia and favourable for its people".

Czechs and Slovaks to cooperate in airspace protection

The Czech and Slovak defence ministers agreed on Friday that the two countries would start talks on joint protection of their airspace. The Czech government first came up with the idea on Monday after finally rejecting the plan to purchase 24 JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets to replace the ageing fleet of Soviet MIGs.

Anti-NATO protests

Two Anti-NATO demonstrations took place on Friday afternoon. A crowd of anarchists marched from Namesti Miru Square towards the Congress Centre - the main venue of the summit - and back, and a meeting of right-wing nationalists ended at around 4 pm on Old Town Square in the historic centre of Prague. No violence was reported from the demonstrations or those that took place on the previous days.

The NATO summit took place amid tight security measures. Around 12,000 policemen were stationed in the streets of Prague, equipped with water cannons and riot gear, and police helicopters were patrolling over the city. Also border police turned away more than 300 would-be protesters at the Czech border.

Weather

Friday night should remain cloudy with a chance of drizzle and temperatures dropping to lows of 5 to 1 degrees Celsius.