By RIA Novosti
Warsaw : The Czech prime minister said Thursday that Prague may allow Russia to carry out inspection of a US radar site planned in the Czech Republic as part of a proposed US missile shield in Europe.
In an interview with Czech television, Mirek Topolanek said that Russian experts would not be allowed to maintain a permanent presence during the construction of the radar, or after the base becomes operational, but could be given specific dates for inspections.
“Russian inspectors could have scheduled days to conduct periodic checks (of the radar),” Topolanek said
Topolanek met US Defence Secretary Robert Gates Wednesday. Gates is on a two-day visit to the Czech Republic to discuss preparations for deploying missile defence radar in the country, in addition to a missile interceptor base in Poland.
Washington insists that a missile shield in Europe is needed to protect the US and its NATO allies from potential missile attacks from Iran or North Korea.
Gates said at the meeting that US proposals aimed at easing Moscow’s concerns over the European shield included allowing Russian experts to maintain a presence at the Czech and Polish missile sites to monitor their activities.