The United States said on Tuesday it remains hoping to reach an agreement with Poland over the deployment of an American missile defense system despite its "general conversations" with Lithuania over the same issue.
"We have had general conversations with the government of Lithuania about missile defense issues," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.
"But certainly we expect and hope that we will be able to conclude an agreement with Poland in the near future, and I don't think that there is at this point any discussions about alternate sites," Casey said.
John Rood, acting under secretary of state for arms control and international security, largely briefed Lithuanian officials on the status of U.S.-Poland missile defense talks when he visited the Baltic country in May, the spokesman noted.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell also said that Washington still hoped for a deal with Poland. "But we have always said that there are other options available to us. There are several European nations that could host the (missile) interceptors and Lithuania is one of them," Morrell told reporters.
The United States is talking with Lithuania about possibly installing part of a planned missile shield there if negotiations with Poland fail, mass media quoted Polish chief negotiator Witold Waszczykowski as reporting on Tuesday.
The United States is planning to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of its European missile shield.
Russia strongly opposes the plan, saying it poses a threat to its security. The United States says the system is aimed at states and groups in the Middle East that are seeking weapons of mass destruction, not against Russia.
Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania are all members of the NATO alliance.
Source:Xinhua
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