Nuclear Prague

Hosting a U.S. president is a honor for any city (except maybe Beijing), and doing it twice in two years is a rarity. It's understandable that Czechs wouldn't want to refuse the offer to host the signing of the new U.S.-Russian arms-reduction treaty in Prague, even if it sends a signal about being half-way between Moscow and Washington. This view of Prague's place in the world serves Russia both politically and commercially. After a successful START signing, it will be more difficult to deny Russia's civilian nuclear industry equal rights to bid for the Temelín contract. By putting its full weight behind Westinghouse, the U.S. is already legitimizing a tender process that many people assume has weighed in Russia's favor from the very beginning. Initial news in Dec. of a Prague START signing was greeted with incredulity. So was a report in MFD at the same time about a joint U.S.-Russian bid for Temelín. But now it's beginning to sound a little less crazy, esp. after Russian-friendly Miloš Zeman spoke of it in Feb. on Czech TV.