The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Nice

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he won Russian backing on Friday for talks on security in Europe next year and urged a freeze in missile deployments by Moscow and the United States until then.

His call was immediately questioned by the Czech Republic, which is due to host a tracking radar as part of a U.S. missile shield in eastern Europe that has angered Moscow. It said he had no mandate to make such remarks.

Speaking after an EU-Russia summit, Sarkozy said he voiced concerns about Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's threat to deploy missiles in an enclave near Poland in response to U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe. "I indicated to President Medvedev how concerned we were about this declaration and how there should be no deployment in any enclave until we have discussed new geopolitical conditions for pan-European security," Sarkozy told a news conference. "As president of the European Union, I proposed that in mid-2009 we meet t to lay down the foundation for what could be the future of European security," he said.