Thick red line

Just hours after Russia announced that its opposition to missile defense in Central Europe is a "red-line" issue not open to negotiation, Radar Coordinator Tomáš Klvaňa appointed a PR agency for stepping up the CR's radar campaign. On the surface, this signaled that missile defense is also a non-negotiable issue for Prague. The choice of PR agency, though, offers some small hope that the red line can be crossed or blurred. AMI Communications, Klvaňa's new PR adviser, has successfully helped ČEZ with its expansion into Russian energy territory. By seeking similar room for understanding on missile defense, the CR could perhaps avoid landing in the middle of another arms race or Cold War. Taking Moscow's concerns into account doesn't have to be pro-Russian or anti-American, as the Czech government would have us believe. It might just be the politically expedient thing to do. [Czech Republic public relations Sergei Lavrov station]