Czech premier confirms U.S. has dropped anti-missile plans
15:02 17/09/2009 WARSAW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer confirmed on Thursday that Washington has decided to scrap its missile defense plans for the Czech Republic and Poland, which have been fiercely opposed by Russia.
"Barack Obama telephoned me at 00:21 local time. Poland has also been informed of the decision," Fischer told a news briefing in Prague.
The premier said a U.S. delegation is due to arrive in Prague within hours to discuss details of the decision.
A U.S. delegation led by Ellen Tauscher, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, finished talks in Warsaw earlier on Thursday. No official comments have followed.
Media in the U.S., Poland and the Czech Republic have cited high-ranking sources as saying the Obama administration will officially soon announce its decision to abandon plans for a radar in the Czech Republic and a missile base in Poland.
The Wall Street Journal cited sources close to the issue as saying the U.S. decision to scrap the plans are based on an assessment that Iran's long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the U.S. and Europe's major cities.
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