SOFA treaty to be signed in London on Friday

The Status of Forces Agreement laying down the conditions for US soldiers living and working at a planned radar base on Czech soil will be signed in London on Friday. Czech Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanová and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sign the SOFA agreement together with a declaration of strategic cooperation. The agreement completes an initial deal Prague and Washington signed in July to base a powerful radar system in the Czech Republic to support a battery of 10 interceptor missiles in neighbouring Poland. The treaties between Prague and Washington still need to be ratified by the Czech Parliament.