Prague - Czech and US negotiators are likely to complete talks on the second missile shield treaty in September, Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova said Thursday. Parkanova said she also expects the center-right cabinet of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to discuss the so-called Status of Forces Agreement later the same month.
The pact defines conditions for stationing US troops at a radar base Washington wants to build as part of its planned missile defence system in a military zone one hour's drive south-west of Prague.
The agreement complements a diplomatic deal signed in the Czech capital by the top Czech and US diplomats, Karel Schwarzenberg and Condoleezza Rice, in early July.
After more than a year of tough bargaining, Washington last week sealed a deal with Warsaw, under which Poland would host 10 interceptor missiles for the system. In both Central European countries treaties require parliamentary approval.
The plan to place the US military bases in former Soviet satellites, now members of NATO and the European Union, has angered Russia.
While Washington says the shield is aimed at countering potential long-range missile attacks from so-called rogue states such as Iran, Moscow considers it a threat to its own security.
