Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told his Italian counterpart Romano Prodiat at a meeting in Bratislava on Wednesday that he disagreed to station anti-missile bases in the neighboring Czech Republic and Poland.
Fico pointed out that it was his personal view and not the Slovak government's position. The issue of the anti-missile bases has not been sufficiently discussed with the European Union, Russia and NATO, Fico pointed out. He also did not want the installations to be stationed too close to Slovakia. "I am against any missile bases and any radar installations on the territory of the European Union in close vicinity of Slovakia. This directly concerns us," he added.
Fico said that Russia and the United States were unlikely to reach an agreement on the problem because their positions are too extreme.
The deployment of the bases should have been discussed with Russia from the very beginning, he added. The United States unveiled its plan in January to place a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, as components of the missile defense shield. Russia has voiced strong opposition to the deployment. Fico repeated his negative position on the bases several times and he always pointed out that he personally would oppose stationing of such a base in Slovakia.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry previously expressed a position on the U.S. missile defense shield in Europe different from that of Fico's. It confirmed that Slovakia would contribute to security in Central Europe. Source: Xinhua
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