Prague - Former Czech president Vaclav Havel, a supporter of the Bush administration's plans to build missile defence bases in Eastern Europe, expressed regrets Friday that US President Barack Obama scrapped the project.

"Russia is testing us," Havel said in a statement posted on his website. "She is testing how much we fear her. It is a pity that we cannot complete this test to the end."

Havel, the icon of anti-communist resistance, was among Eastern Europe's intellectuals who recently signed an open letter urging Obama not to abandon their region in the face of Russia's assertive policies in its former backyard.

Obama Thursday said the US decided to replace the planned Bush-era project, which had irked Moscow, with a mobile system.

The previous White House planned to deploy a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of the system, which was allegedly being developed against potential Iranian long-range missiles. (dpa)