Washington, September 19: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has invited the Czech Republic to join a new missile defense system for Europe and has promised to boost US security.
Seeking to reassure the Czechs a day after President Barack Obama announced plans to scrap a missile defense shield based in Central Europe, Gates said he hoped Prague would play a role in the new system that will initially use sea-based interceptors.
“We talked about opportunities for future cooperation, and said that we would welcome Czech participation in the new architecture,” Gates told reporters after meeting his Czech counterpart, Martin Bartak, at the Pentagon.
The pair agreed there would soon be a ‘high level’ meeting of defense officials that would focus on “opportunities for enhancing the security relationship between the Czech Republic and the United States,” said Gates.
“Missile defense doesn’t end here,” Bartak said, adding that his country would look to see how it could help with the new system, which would introduce land-based SM-3 interceptors by 2015.
Gates said the US administration did not discuss the new missile defense system with Russia, which had strongly objected to former president George W. Bush’s plan that would have installed a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptors in Poland.
After the decision, Polish and Czech leaders insisted that ties with the United States would remain strong, but newspapers in both countries Friday attacked Obama’s move, accusing hi
—–Agencies