Czech leader: Missile deal no problem

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By Helene Franchineau THE WASHINGTON TIMES

UPDATED:

The president of the Czech Republic said Monday that the Obama administration's decision not to deploy missile defenses in his country did not surprise him and will have "no practical consequences" for Europe's strategic defense.

"I fully accept this decision," Vaclav Klaus told editors and reporters of The Washington Times. He was referring to last week's announcement that the U.S. initially will deploy sea-based defenses against short- and medium-range Iranian missiles, not a Czech- and Polish-based system designed to counteract long-range missiles that Iran apparently is developing more slowly than the U.S. had anticipated.

"I do not think it is necessary to demonize it," Mr. Klaus said of the U.S. decision. "It was expected as something that could happen, and we need to put it in perspective."

He added that he had never been convinced of the strategic value of the proposed system.

Mr. Klaus also said that, 20 years after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, his country has less to fear from Russia than from an overregulated European Union.

(Corrected paragraph:) A fierce opponent of communism during the Cold War era and a free-market enthusiast, Mr. Klaus voiced concern about the impact of growing government intervention in EU economies since the global recession struck last year.

(Corrected paragraph:) "I live now in a much more regulated, controlled society than I expected 20 years ago, in the moment of the fall of communism," he said. The president, widely known as a Euro-skeptic, called that "frustrating."

"Whether we will be able to keep our identity as a state is for me an issue," he said.