Participation in anti-missile system better as part of NATO, says minister

The minister of defence, Jiri Sedivy, believes it would be better for the Czech Republic to take part in a United States anti-missile defence system as part of NATO, rather than with the US alone. Speaking in Saturday's Pravo, Mr Sedivy said if the system was developed through NATO it could increase the cohesion of the alliance in the long term.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic's ambassador to NATO, Stefan Fule, said the US was apparently going to decide on the most suitable location for a proposed base in central Europe after a NATO summit in November. US military experts have visited potential sites in the Czech Republic, though Poland is also in the running to host the base.