Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise G8 summit offer June 7 to set up a joint Russian-U.S. anti-missile base to end a crisis between the two countries.br /“The most important thing is his (Putin’s) will to seek agreement,” Topolanek said in a statement, adding that Putin also recognized that the concept of anti-missile defense is “useful.”br /The Czech Republic, along with neighboring Poland, has been on the front line of the developing row between Washington and Moscow over a proposed missile defense shield in Central Europe.br /The U.S. asked the Czech Republic at the start of the year to host a radar tracking station, with Poland earmarked for 10 interceptor missiles to shoot a hostile missile attack out of the sky.br /Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova told the news agency CTK that Putin’s offer for a joint base in Azerbaijan was “a bolt out of the blue.”br /She nonetheless welcomed the possibility that the US, NATO and Russia might begin to cooperate on anti-missile defense.br /“We have always said that anti-missile defense is not targeted at Russia.br /“From this Putin offer it appears that he has understood this,” she added.br /Putin’s offer would have to be evaluated by the U.S. and NATO, with an opportunity to do that on June 14 and 15 when NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels.br /Putin made the startling proposal during talks with U.S. President George W.br /Bush aimed at rescuing relations between the two countries from a post-Cold War low. The two met on the sidelines of the G8 summit in the German resort of Heiligendamm on June 7

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