NATO foreign ministers are gathered in the Norwegian capital of Oslo to discuss the alliance's plan to build a strategic missile defense system and NATO's role in Kosovo.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faces a uphill battle to convince her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that Washington's plan to deploy missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic is not against Moscow.

NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council discussed the issue for the first time last week. The Oslo meeting will be the highest level discussions so far.

Last week, it seemed that the Americans were successful in convincing its European allies that the plan is good for Europe as the costs are lower than a separate NATO missile shield.

European allies were told that the American site in eastern Europe would be capable of covering most of Europe except part of Romania plus Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. The "blind spots" could be covered by plugging in NATO's Theater Missile Defense system that is under development.

On the sidelines of their meeting, NATO foreign ministers will also hold consultations with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the alliance's missile defense plans.

Last week, American officials, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency director, Henry A. Obering, failed to convince the Russian ambassador to NATO that a missile defence shield for Europe is necessary.

"I would like to underscore that possible deployment of a U.S. missile defense site in Europe is not something pleasant to us," Ambassador Konstantin Totskiy told reporters after a meeting with the North Atlantic Council.

He said Russian and American experts held different views on missile threats to Europe. Moscow has also concerns that the United States may increase the number of interceptor missiles in the future.

The United States is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic for the deployment of interceptor missiles and a radar tracking system in the two countries respectively.

NATO Assistant Secretary General Martin Erdmann cautioned that the alliance is at the beginning of discussions. "I would not go as far as to say that there is a consensus. I would even go as far as to say that the discussion has just started," he told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday.

The NATO foreign ministers will also discuss the alliance's role in Kosovo after its status is settled by the UN Security Council. The alliance has 17,000 troops in the province of Serbia to help maintain stability. It has vowed to maintain the capacity to face all eventualities.

Afghanistan will be another major topic in the discussions. The ministers will assess progress in the so-called "comprehensive concept" put forward by NATO heads of state and government at their summit in Riga, Latvia last November.

The ministers will discuss NATO enlargement by assessing the progress the aspirant countries have made. Erdmann said three countries will be under scrutiny: Macedonia, Albania and Croatia.

"The door of NATO remains open ... The ministers will want to support these aspirant countries in making the necessary progress in order to walk through that door."

Source: Xinhua