(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-26 09:30

PRAGUE - The construction of the US radar base in the Czech Brdy military grounds can cause problems for gas and petrol deliveries, the Czech branch of Greenpeace said in the city of Plzen, west of the republic, on Saturday.

"We reject the radar base unequivocally, mainly for its health risks and foreign policy impact," Greenpeace spokesman Karel Dolejsi said at the public meeting.

Dolejsi said that the radar installation would be the first step in a series of projects that would end up with the stationing of weapons in the orbit and destabilization of the current security system.

"It is very likely that a new round of arms races is starting... " Dolejsi said.

The United Stares unveiled its plan in January to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, as components of the missile defense shield.

According to a recent public opinion poll, more than two thirds of Czech citizens oppose the installation of the base. Municipalities surrounding the Brdy area feared that the radar could affect the environment and the health of the local people.

Russia has also expressed strong objection to the US missile defense program. The Kremlin has suspended Russia's participation in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) in July.

The CFE, signed by 22 states in Paris on November 19, 1990, represented an agreement between NATO members and Warsaw Pact countries. It was aimed at establishing a balance in Europe by cutting weapons of conventional armed forces.