Prague - In the dispute over the proposed US missile defence
system in central Europe the Czech Republic Sunday rejected a plea by
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to halt negotiations with the
United States as another eight communities vote against the radar.
'I can't see a reason why we should stop our negotiations on
Russia's request,' Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said
in Prague. 'If Moscow would like to talk to Washington, it can do so
at the same time.'
Lavrov had called on the US to halt negotiations over the
stationing of the missile shield. Russian proposals for a joint
missile defence system based in Azerbaijan had to be discussed first,
he insisted.
Meanwhile, another eight Czech communities have spoken out against
plans to station a US radar system in their area. An overwhelming
majority of people had voted against the plans in a number of local
referenda, the authorities in Prague said Sunday.
Earlier on, other communities in the central Bohemian region had
rejected the project.
The referenda do not have any binding force for the Czech
government, but they are widely seen as an important test of public
opinion.
According to polls, almost two-thirds of Czechs reject the plans
for the US missile defence system.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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