Washington: US and Polish officials said they believe they can strike a deal which would allow US missiles to be installed in Poland as part of a defensive shield for Europe.

Polish Defense Secretary Bogdan Klich said US officials in meetings at the Pentagon and State Department declared themselves ready to begin talks on possible American help to upgrade Polish air defenses in exchange for Warsaw's agreement to participate in the European missile system.

Klich said earlier this month that Poland would like the United States to bolster its air defenses with new short- and medium-range systems like the Patriot missile.

"It's an important declaration because we still at the moment don't see a right balance between the costs and the benefits of this installation," Klich told reporters after a Tuesday meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday.

"The readiness of the American side to talk about this issue I see as the major result of (my) two days in Washington," he said.

The Bush administration wants to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar installation in the Czech Republic under a 3.5 billion dollar plan to defend Europe and the United States against possible missile attack from Iran.

The plan has angered Moscow, which says the system would pose a threat to Russian national security. Russia also has warned it will take unspecified tangible measures if construction begins on the missile system's infrastructure.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Poland is already the leading beneficiary of US military aid in Europe, with Warsaw receiving more than 750 million dollars of assistance under the Bush administration.

Source : UNI