Rice will visit the Czech Republic first of all to sign the Czech-U.S.
treaty on the stationing of a U.S. radar base on Czech soil. Rice is expected to land in Prague on July 8 around 10:00. Before noon, she is to Rice to sign Czech-U.S. radar treaty in Prague next week ...
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Against the grain ... meet Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. According to CTK, Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will sign the treaty in the Cernin Palace, the Foreign Ministry's seat, shortly after 15:00. The treaty will then require approval from Czech parliament and President Vaclav Klaus. Negotiations about other agreements related to the main treaty have not been completed yet. It is not yet known whether Rice will meet Czech lower house chairman Miloslav Vlcek. A reception to welcome Rice is to start at 17:00 at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, according to CTK information. It is likely to be attended also by U.S. Missile Defence Agency (MDA) chief Henry Obering. The Government Office will organise a ceremonial dinner for Rice in the Hrzan Palace at 20:00, a well-informed source told CTK. Rice is to spend the night at one of the luxury hotels in Prague, probably Hilton where President George Bush stayed last year, or Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons. On Tuesday morning, Rice may fly to Poland where a silo with ten interceptor missiles, another part of the planned U.S. missile defence shield in Europe, is to be located. A more detailed programme of Rice's visit is to be known in the afternoon, the Czech government writes on its website. The Central European elements are to protect the United States and a large part of the European continent against missiles that states like Iran or North Korea might launch. U.S.-Polish talks on the treaty are still underway, Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich told journalists on Thursday. The Czech opposition and about two thirds of the Czech public are still opposed to the radar base, according to the latest public opinion polls. The radar base is to be built in the military district Brdy, some 90km southwest of Prague.
(Ceske Noviny)
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