U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and his visiting Polish counterpart Bogdan Klich met here Tuesday on a plan to build a defense site in Poland, the Pentagon said.
They had "frank but productive" talks, said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
"We are trying to figure out how to work with them to continue to move forward on what we believe to be a program of vital importance not just for us, but really for Europe," he told reporters.
Morrell said the United States will work to address Poland's concerns, but he would not elaborate what those concerns are.
At a separate news conference, Klich said the key issue here is to find "the right balance between the costs and the benefits."
In other words, Poland now wants the United States to upgrade its air defenses in exchange for its agreement to go ahead with the missile shield plan. U.S. officials have now agreed to open talks on the issue, Klich said.
The United States plans to build a missile defense site in Poland and a special radar site in the Czech Republic. Russia said the plan is a serious threat to its security and firmly opposes it. In Poland and Czech Republic, the plan also met local resistance.
The current Polish government, elected last year, was initially negative about the plan while trying to patch relations with Russia. After two months in office, the Polish government now said it is willing to talk with the United States on the issue with certain conditions.
Source:Xinhua
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