Czech Gripen fighters will secure the air space and escort the planes of U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a U.S.-Russia summit in April, the CTK national news agency said on Tuesday.
Moscow and Washington announced on Friday that a new strategic arms control treaty, reducing nuclear warheads to 1,550 and delivery vehicles to 800 on each side, would be signed on April 8 in Prague.
The Czech military and police will help ensure security during the summit, Defense Minister Martin Bartak said. About 1,000 Czech police, including specially trained bodyguards, will be on hand for the event.
Obama is expected to make a speech in Prague as he did during his first visit to Prague last April when he attended an EU-U.S. summit.
At the time, Obama made a keynote address outside Prague Castle, calling for a world without nuclear weapons.
PRAGUE, March 30 (RIA Novosti)
