"We believe Russia has an interest in cooperating with us and NATO because the missile threat from Iran comes to Russia first," US Under-Secretary of Defence for Policy, Eric Edelman, told reporters in Warsaw.

He was speaking on the eve of a meeting in Brussels on the missile shield between the Russians, United States and NATO members.

Russia was riled when Washington announced in January that it wants to install 10 Interceptor missiles in Poland and a powerful radar in the Czech Republic, as it extends the cloak of missile defence already in place in the United States to its European allies.

Washington maintains that the system is aimed at protecting the United States and parts of Europe from long-range missile attacks from the Middle East, and Iran in particular.

But Russia is nervous about the idea that its old Cold War foe would set this up on its doorstep, and has accused Washington of targeting it with the facility.

"Russia comes within range first, the flight paths of these missiles traverse Russia first, before they fly over central Europe," Edelman said after he and Lieutenant-General Henry Trey Obering, head of the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency, met with Polish officials on the defence system.

Edelman dismissed Moscow's claims that the missiles were a threat to Russia.

"How 10 Interceptors which don't have explosive warheads -- they're purely kinetic vehicles that destroy the incoming missile by virtue of the high speed of the intercept -- could possibly threaten Russia's nuclear deterrent, which is made up of hundreds of missiles and thousands of warheads, is a little hard to see," he said.

Obering said Washington has been wholly transparent in its dealings with its allies and Russia on the missile shield, even inviting them to visit sites already installed in Alaska and California.

"We have invited many of our allies to visit missile defence sites in the United States. We have also invited the Russians to visit those sites. We have nothing to hide," he said.

But he stressed that Poland would be responsible for choosing who would be invited to visit any site set up on its soil.

"This is not US territory. Poland would be responsible for inviting in anyone to visit a facility set up in Poland," he said.

Edelman and Obering traveled Wednesday evening to Brussels for the meeting with NATO members and Russia on the missile shield.

Developing the defense shield must begin in the short-term, said Obering, to avoid "finding ourselves in a situation where we begin to see a threat and can't do anything about it because we have no system to turn on."

If formal negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic are begun this year, installation of the system could begin "in the latter part of 2008", and the facility could be operational by 2013, the US general said.

earlier related report
US commander accuses Iran of destabilizing actions in Iraq, Afghanistan
Washington (AFP) April 18 - The top US commander in the Middle East accused Iran of taking destabilizing actions in Iraq and Afghanistan on Wednesday, but he also left open the door to talks with Tehran.

Admiral William Fallon pointed to Iran's nuclear weapons program, boasts about its uranium enrichment program, and the recent capture of British sailors and marines in the Gulf as examples of Tehran's bad behavior.

"They are ... tripping over themselves, it seems to me, to make breast-beating proclamations that are unhelpful," Fallon said at a congressional hearing here.

"And there is no doubt they are taking actions particularly destabilizing in both Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

"So the behavior is not very good -- this recent caper with the British, the kind of cowboy-type activity that is certainly not representative of what they claim to be trying to do, which is become a major player in the region," he said.

Fallon's comments came a day after General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Iranian-made mortars and explosives destined for the Taliban were intercepted by coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Pace stopped short of accusing the Iranian regime of involvement, but it suggested high-level US concern that Iran is expanding its challenges to the US military presence in the region.

The United States has long charged that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force has been supplying bomb-making components and training to Iraqi extremist groups for attacks on US forces.

Pace said the United States would deal with Iran through diplomacy and that direct military action was a tool of last resort.

Echoing that, Fallon told lawmakers he was looking forward to a regional conference on Iraq in Egypt in May to enlist the help of Iraq's neighbors.

The first such meeting in Baghdad last month included a brief one-on-one exchange between then US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzhad and his Iranian counterpart.

"You're aware there was an inauguaral discussion and I would look forward to the discussion that might ensue in this meeting, particularly in the context of what role Iran may play in a helpful venue towards Iraq," Fallon said.

NATO and Russia hold high-level US missile shield talks
Brussels (AFP) April 18 - The United States and its NATO allies hold Thursday their first high-level talks with Russian officials aimed at easing Moscow's fears about US plans to build part of a missile shield in Europe.

Representatives from the 26 NATO allies will try to narrow their differences over the plan -- to include two radar systems and a missile interceptor bank -- during talks Thursday morning at alliance headquarters in Brussels.

In the afternoon, high-ranking Russian officials will lay out Moscow's objections to the shield and be further briefed on it by US experts, NATO officials and diplomats say.

"It's only the beginning of a first real exchange of views," one diplomat told AFP, on condition of anonymity, adding that "it is too early to expect any decisions."

"Thursday's meetings could help restore confidence among us, particularly with Russia, but also ease German concerns," the diplomat said.

But he warned: "If things haven't cooled down after these meetings, there could be a danger of more clearly marked divisions among the allies."

The United States announced in January it had begun negotiations on installing a missile interceptor bank in Poland, a radar system in the Czech Republic plus an early-warning radar somewhere in the Caucasus region.

Washington maintains that the system would not only protect the United States but also many of its European allies against "rogue threats" from countries like Iran.

But Russia is ruffled by the idea that its old Cold War foe would set this up in its back yard and has accused Washington of hiding its real intentions, trying to start another arms race, and threatened to retaliate.

Germany is demanding closer consultation with Moscow but is also concerned that parts of southern Europe -- Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey -- would be exposed outside the shield, expected to be fully operational in 2013.

"The Germans don't know clearly yet what they really want, but they are obviously convinced that NATO should play a role in it all," the NATO diplomat said.

In the latest sign of Washington's efforts to assuage those fears, US officials presented Russia Tuesday with "new ideas" for bilateral cooperation between them on missile defence in general.

Another NATO diplomat noted that Washington wants to move quickly to get the project off the ground before US President George W. Bush steps down next year.

"As for the Americans, they want to go fast and get the ball rolling before Bush's mandate ends. So they are ready for concessions, as long as the main thrust of the plan is kept," he said.

But despite the apparently conciliatory US moves, Russia was pessimistic its concerns will be addressed.

"We hope, although I will say sincerely that I am not optimistic, that Washington will listen to our analyses and worries," Igor Ivanov, head of the Russian national security council, said Tuesday.

A senior Russian diplomat, Alexander Grushko, said separately that Russia intended to have serious talks with NATO foreign ministers in Norway next week on the missile scheme and the alliance's expansion into eastern Europe.

"We are counting on a deep and serious discussion in Oslo concerning all aspects of the relationship between Russia and NATO," he told Interfax news agency.

The dispute has accelerated debate at NATO about its own missile plans.

A study for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has found that there is a possible missile threat to the allies and that they have the technical means to counter it. Little concrete action has been taken since its release in June.

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