Warsaw - Czech President Vaclav Klaus began a three-day
official visit to Poland Tuesday in talks with his Polish counterpart
Lech Kaczynski on the controversial United States plan to install a
missile defence shield in their neighbouring countries.
Developments following the June European Union summit, focused on
a new constitution for the bloc and energy security, are also due to
figure on the leaders' agenda, according to a spokesperson for the
Polish president.
In June, the Czech Republic agreed to a US proposal to station
anti-missile radar sites on its territory. However, Poland, where the
US plans to install ten anti-ballistic missile silos, is yet to give
a definitive answer.
Next week Kaczynski is due to hold talks on the controversial plan
in Washington.
Despite assurances from the US that the missile shield is designed
only to ward off terror attacks from so-called rogue states such as
Iran and South Korea, Russia vehemently opposes the project.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used Cold War-era rhetoric
threatening his country will have to point its missiles at European
targets should the US push ahead with the missile shield plan in
Central Europe.
Both Poland and the Czech Republic are former Soviet satellites
which joined the NATO Western defence alliance in 1999 and the EU in
2004.
President Klaus is due to meet Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczyski
later Tuesday, while on Wednesday and Thursday he and his wife will
be the guests of the President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria
for a more relaxed visit to the Polish countryside.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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