U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
Joint Statement by the United States and Czech Republic
The United
States and the Czech
Republic are pleased to
announce the completion of negotiations on a missile defense agreement. We plan to sign the agreement in the near
future.
This agreement is an important step in our
efforts to protect our nations and our NATO Allies from the growing threat
posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass
destruction.
This agreement calls for the stationing of a U.S. radar in the Czech Republic to track ballistic missiles. The radar will be linked to other U.S. missile defense facilities in Europe and the United States.
In addition to deepening our bilateral strategic relationship, we strongly believe that our cooperation in this area will make a substantial contribution to NATO's collective capability to counter existing and future threats in the 21st century, and will be an integral part of any future NATO-wide missile defense architecture.
