Russian spies operating in the Czech Republic have tried to increase public opposition to a planned U.S. missile defense facility here, the Czech counterintelligence service said Thursday.
The spies contacted non-governmental organizations, politicians and the media in the past year about the U.S. missile facility, the Czech Security Information Service, or BIS, said in its annual report. It provided few other details.
The United States plans to build the radar base near Prague as part of a missile shield that Washington says is intended to deal with the threat from Iran.
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The Czech Republic's three intelligence services chiefs have been summoned to parliament's lower chamber to provide details on the spies at a defense committee meeting Oct. 1, lawmaker Jan Vidim said.
Vidim said he was not surprised about the presence of Russian spies.
"What's surprising is how openly and clearly the BIS says that the Russians have been trying to influence the public. They have to be pretty sure about it," Vidim said.
The agency's report said it believed the Russian activities were part of a broader, long-term campaign to damage the integrity of the European Union and NATO and to isolate the United States. The campaign also aims to renew Russian control over the territory in Europe it once dominated, the report said.
