President Klaus to hold talks in United States

President Klaus is to travel to the United States on Sunday for a three week visit which is expected to cover a number of outstanding issues in bilateral relations. His talks with US top officials will focus primarily on the US plan to build a US missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland and the lifting of visa requirements for Czechs traveling to the United States. The Czech Republic has promised to give Washington an official response within a month on whether the country would be prepared to host a US radar base on its territory.

Although the final decision will be made by Parliament, the governing coalition is divided over the matter. The Civic Democrats and Christian Democrats support it, but the Green Party objects to the fact that the defense project does not involve the country's NATO allies.