U.S.-Poland to move ahead on missile defense

By Tabassum Zakaria and Chris Borowski

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush and Poland's president on Monday emphasized the need to build a missile defense system in Europe that has strained relations with Russia.

"There's no better symbol of our desire to work for peace and security than working on a missile defense system," Bush said with Polish President Lech Kaczynski at his side in the Oval Office.

The missile-defense system would provide security for Europe from countries where "leaders don't particularly care for our way of life and, or, are in the process of trying to develop serious weapons of mass destruction," Bush said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin late last week suspended Moscow's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty from mid-December. The move was widely seen as an effort to raise pressure over U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

NATO on Monday expressed concerned at Russia's decision to suspend participation in the treaty, which covers the deployment of armed forces in post-Cold War Europe.

Kaczynski is one of Moscow's most outspoken critics and a key U.S. ally in Europe. He said he wanted to emphasize the "defensive" nature of the proposed missile shield and its intended use in protecting against countries that might have weapons of mass destruction.

"I do hope the whole project will be completed successfully," Kaczynski said through a translator.

The White House said it would keep working with Russia on missile defense.

Bush and Putin met earlier this month at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine in an attempt to improve ties that have become frayed partly over the missile shield.

Putin made a new counter-proposal that expanded on his previous offer to use a radar system in Azerbaijan as an alternative to the U.S. missile-shield proposal.

He suggested in Maine incorporating a radar system in southern Russia and bringing more European countries into the decision-making through the Russia-NATO Council.

"The comments that the Russian president made up in Kennebunkport offered a certain amount of promise for moving forward. We continue to have discussions with them on it," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Washington wants to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect against attacks from what it calls "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

Bush last month visited both Poland and the Czech Republic, which has agreed to host the radar site on its territory. Poland has held out, hoping to negotiate related military contracts or other concessions.

Polish and U.S. negotiators held a round of talks in late June in Washington and will continue the talks later this summer.

Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, who represents Poland in the talks, expects a deal in September or October.