U.S. President George W. Bush and his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus discussed the U.S. plan to install radar scanners in the Czech Republic, said the U.S. government on Wednesday.

The two presidents held a telephone conversation, in which they "discussed missile defense as well as a number of bilateral and regional issues," said the White House's National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe in a statement.

Bush also told Klaus that he looked forward "to traveling to Prague in June," said Johndroe.

The conversation came as the United States is trying to make a fresh pitch to Russia at a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Norway's Oslo on Thursday over its planned missile defence shield in Eastern Europe despite strong criticism from Moscow.

As a part of the plan, a tracking radar will be installed in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles will be deployed in Poland.

The United States says the shield is aimed at protecting itself and its European allies from what Washington thinks is a growing ballistic missile threat strike by such countries as Iran.

The plan has aroused strong opposition from Russia, who says those countries do not pose an immediate threat and claims the plan aims to weaken Russia's missile deterrent.

Source: Xinhua