PRAGUE. MAY 14. INTERFAX
C.NTRAL EUROPE - A team of 38 experts from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Monday launched another inspection of the Czech military site Brdy as the possible location of a U.S. anti-ballistic missile (ABM) radar station, the Czech Defense Ministry said.
"The inspection is focused mainly on hydrological and geological conditions of the area, quality of the local infrastructure and transport accessibility," Major Petr Sykora of the ministry said in a press release.
The inspection, led by the MDA's Julian Savage, follows a decision by the Czech government, sent to the U.S. at end-March in a diplomatic note, launching official negotiations concerning the U.S. radar station.
The MDA officials will be continuing work started by a U.S. team of experts who visited the site in Central Bohemia about ten months ago.
Sykora noted that the MDA teams are accompanied by Czech specialists and can only operate on Czech territory in line with Czech law and under specified terms.
He also said the current MDA team visit will not affect the Czech government's future decision concerning inclusion of the Czech Republic in the U.S. anti-missile defense system, which will be subject to the approval of the Czech government and Parliament.