Czech Foreign Ministry says US comments back Czech view on missile shield

U.S. comments on the need to continue developing defences against ballistic missiles have confirmed the Czech position that a defence shield is needed, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova told the CTK news agency that Mr. Obama’s speech and statements from the White House confirm what the Czech Republic had been saying all along and what was also confirmed by the NATO summit - that anti-missile defence is necessary, or it will be sooner or later. The White house said North Korea's rocket launch earlier on Sunday demonstrated the need for the United States to continue developing anti-missile systems.

The former US administration of president Bush made plans to site missile-defence components in Central Europe – a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland. Since the change of administration their future has been uncertain. Although the Czech government has approved the radar and Prague and Washington have signed the respective treaties, the project would still need to be approved by Parliament. Opinion polls show that the majority of Czechs are against the siting of a US radar on Czech soil. Three hundred people turned out to demonstrate against it in the centre of Prague on Saturday and more protests took place today.