Missile Defense System

"These will be exploratory negotiations," chief Czech negotiator and deputy foreign minister Tomar Pojar told Tuesday's edition of the daily Hospodarske Noviny.

The talks will be headed on the US side by chief state department negotiator, John Rood.

Like those launched on May 10, discussions will focus on defining the terms of an agreement covering the location of the base on Czech soil including its construction, maintenance, functioning and security measures, foreign ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova told the AFP news agency.

Interceptor missiles

The US wants to put a radar in the Czech Republic with interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland to counter what it says is a missile attack threat by Iran or other "rogue states."

The US proposal has created rifts within NATO, outright hostility from Russia and opposition from many Czechs.

Czech and Polish presidents, Vaclav Klaus and Lech Kaczynski, late Monday stressed the project's "purely defensive" character at a joint press conference in Prague.

Pojar told Hospodarske Noviny that Prague wanted a presence at the radar site and also wanted to be privy to information received.

"Generally we are counting on having someone from our army being present at the base," he told the paper.

"Images from the radar will be linked to our army so that they can know what the radar is seeing. An online connection should also exist for NATO chiefs," he added.

The US missile shield is likely to be a main topic for discussion for 18 central and western European presidents when they meet Saturday in the eastern Czech city of Brno.

US President George W. Bush is also due to visit Prague on June 4 and 5 to discuss the defense plan.