The Czech Republic and the United States launched another round of talks on the bilateral treaty which will provide legal status for the stay of US soldiers at the planned radar base on Czech soil, a high-level official told the Czech media on Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra said both sides might agree on the issue concerning criminal liability of US soldiers in the Czech Republic this week.

"I think that there is a certain hope that this issue or part of the treaty might be negotiated this week," Vondra told Czech Radio-Radiozurnal.

He added that the Czech Republic would definitely not accept lower standards than those applied to similar US bases on the territory of West European countries.

The Czech Republic and the United States are negotiating two treaties defining the conditions for the building of the US radar base at the Brdy military district, some 90 km southwest of the capital city of Prague, along with an interceptor missile base in Poland.

Besides the SOFA agreement (Strategic Framework and the Status of Forces Agreement), the two countries also negotiate on the main agreement that defines the purpose of the establishment of the base.

The talks on the main treaty are to be closed soon. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said after meeting with US President George Bush in Washington last week that the bilateral treaty would be completed "at home" in a couple of days.

Most controversial issues in the main treaty concern the agreement on environmental protection in the surroundings of the base. Czech negotiators want its legal aspects to be subject to stricter regulations, no matter if they are Czech or the United States.

Another problem might be compensation for possible damage caused in connection with the base.

On the contrary, the talks on the SOFA treaty would be probably lengthy. Topolanek did not rule it out that the treaty might be completed only after the NATO summit, at the latest by the summer.

According to previous information, Washington demands that the treaty on the stay of US troops apply not only to the radar base in Brdy, but also to the possible presence of US soldiers in the Czech Republic in the future.

The teams of negotiators in February debated, for instance, the number plates of the US soldiers' vehicles and possible Czech supervision of the construction works at the radar site.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2008)