Russian newspapers hail Klaus’ visit as improvement in Czech-Russian relations

President Klaus’ visit to Russia on Wednesday was hailed by Russian newspapers as an improvement in Czech-Russian relations. The business daily Vedomosti wrote that Mr Klaus’ one-day visit “in the role of a friend” marked a point where Moscow and Prague no longer see one another through the radar issue. The paper also stated that with the US having dropped plans to build a radar base in central Bohemia, economic relations between the Czech Republic and the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom have been pushed to the fore. The Czech Republic’s main gas company, RWE Transgas, took only a third of the 8.5 billion cubic metres of gas it was contracted to have purchased by August.