Russia threatens strong action over US-Czech deal

Middle East News.Net
Tuesday 8th July, 2008

A day afterr US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a landmark missile defence deal with the Czech Republic, a war of words has broken out between the United States and Russia.

Russia has responded to the deal for the central European country to host a radar station as part of a US missile defence shield, by threatening a military response if the plan goes ahead.

Russia's Foreign Ministry says if the shield is installed close to Russian borders, then Moscow will be forced to react with military-technical means.

The accord between the US and the Czech Republic permits the siting of a tracking radar station on Czech soil as part of an extended US missile shield.

Even though Washington has said the shield is only a barrier to potential attacks by so-called rogue states such as Iran, Moscow sees the proposed system as a direct threat.

After the signing of the agreement, Rice reiterated Washington's position that the radar station was not aimed at Russia and instead served as a security barrier "for the international community as a whole."

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