The Czech National Security Council met on Tuesday to prepare for the
upcoming NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the meeting, Prime
Minister Vladimir Spidla said the Czech Republic would not support any
proposals for NATO's engagement in Iraq. This country is, however, willing
to participate in peace-keeping missions in the Middle East. In February,
Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda offered to act as a mediator to solve
conflict on the borders between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. According to
Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who will be leading the Czech delegation to
Istanbul, the fact that the next summit will be held in Turkey shows that
NATO hopes to have a more clearly defined role in the Middle East. The
Security Council on Tuesday also approved the country's military strategy
but was not able to agree on a common Czech standpoint on European
security and defence policy.