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Afghanistan

Czechs offer more soldiers to Afghanistan, jets to Baltics

Prague_(dpa) _ The Czech military has offered to support the NATO alliance with more soldiers in Afghanistan and fighter-jet protection of the Baltics, the defence ministry said Friday.

The offers were made at a NATO conference this week in Slovenia and must now be considered by the Czech cabinet and parliament, said ministry spokesman Andrej Cirtek.

In Afghanistan, the Czechs would add next year 90 soldiers and specialists to its deployment of about 100 currently serving with NATO's international force.

Czech specialists would include air-traffic controllers at the Kabul airport, military police and a chemical warfare protection unit. More Czech soldiers would work to defend construction projects around the country.

Cirtek also said that aerial protection for the Baltic states Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia - all NATO allies of the Czech Republic - was a topic at talks this week between Czech Defence Minister Jiri Sedivy and his Lithuanian counterpart Juozas Olekas.

"On behalf of all three Baltic states, the Lithuanian minister asked the Czech Republic about aerial protection of the Baltic territory," Cirtek said.

Unlike the Czech air force, which is equipped with Gripen fighter jets, the Baltic states have no supersonic aircraft.

Sedivy said his ministry would support a plan to guard Baltic air space with Czech jets by 2009 in a show of "allied cooperation." dpa ej pmc

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