Russia "will probably not like to give up their sphere of influence over central Europe which I believe personally is the main reason of their protest against the missile defense system stationing in our country," he said through an interpreter after giving a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

Topolanek said Monday ahead of his two-day visit to Washington that negotiations on the siting of the radar were almost complete and that last minute differences should be ironed out during talks Wednesday with US President George W. Bush, with the agreement likely to be signed some time later.

"This should never happen again, that we ... become a puppet in the hands of a foreign military" power, he said, speaking in English in his speech on Tuesday.

"We do not want to go to a group of countries which have to ask Russia for permission if they want to ensure their own defense."

The planned radar in the Czech Republic is part of a wider missile defense system which the United States says is to protect it and its allies from rogue states such as Iran. It also plans to put 10 interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland.

The plans have enraged Russia, which sees the installations as a threat to its security harking back to the Cold War, and have aroused some domestic opposition in the Czech Republic.

Topolanek blamed this opposition on "very skillful propaganda of the Russian Federation."

"This is not an issue of one radar installation ... it primarily concerns an utterance of free will to defend ourselves," he said in Tuesday's speech. "Our civilization will end if we lack the will to defend ourselves."

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