The trip comes after US officials and lawmakers raised the possibility of involving Russian radars in a missile defense system for Europe.

"We expect missile defense issues to come up," Captain John Kirby, spokesman for Mullen, told AFP.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff departs late Wednesday for a European tour that includes stops in Germany, Poland and Russia, where he will meet the head of the Russian general staff, General Nikolai Markarov.

"We have common interests with Russia with regards to Afghanistan, piracy, and in the fight against terrorists," Kirby said.

But there were other areas including missile defense where there was still room to improve dialogue and cooperation, he said.

The project to expand US missile defenses into eastern Europe, launched by former president George W. Bush, calls for the deployment of ten long-range interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic.

Moscow views the missile shield as a threat while Washington has sought to reassure Russia that the system is designed to defend against possible ballistic missile attacks from Iran.

Russia also has warned that the United States must address its concerns over missile defense to ensure progress in negotiations to replace a Cold War-era nuclear arms reduction treaty.

As a potential compromise, the two countries have discussed adding two Russian radar installations to the missile shield.

During a congressional hearing earlier this month, Senator Carl Levin spoke of including a radar in Gabala in Azerbajian, which Moscow has previously proposed, as well as a radar site in Amravir, in southern Russia.

General Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told the hearing the two radars would bolster the missile shield by collecting valuable information about missile testing in the region.

The general said "the data we would gain from that would significantly help our development of our missile defenses."

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told a news conference on Wednesday that any Russian radar would serve as a complement to the planned sites in Central Europe and not as a replacement.

"But I don't think this is viewed as an alternative. This is, rather, viewed as a complement to a third site in Europe," Morrell said.

The administration "remains optimistic that some sort of agreement can be worked out with the Russians on building a collective system that protects each other and our peoples and our allies in Europe," he added.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in comments published Tuesday that his country would be open to the possibility of a Russian role in the missile defense project.

Admiral Mullen's visit to Russia comes before a summit between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama in Moscow on July 6 to 8.

"There is a hope and an anticipation that these discussions this week will help lay the foundation from a military perspective for a productive summit for the president when he goes" in July, Kirby said.

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