Washington - After meeting the top US diplomat on Monday in the US capital, Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he still thought an agreement was possible on the US-proposed missile- defence system, as long as Washington accepts the Polish standpoint. Sikorski, speaking after meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said Poland had made an alternative request for Washington to supply Warsaw with US Patriot missiles in exchange for Polish permission on the missile-defence system.
Sikorski, who asked for the consultation with Rice, described the half-hour meeting as "good, constructive and productive," according to Polish broadcast reports.
The United States wants to field the missile-defence system in Eastern Europe to fend off the threat posed by Iran's growing ballistic missile capabilities.
Poland has rejected as insufficient a US offer to modernize its military and air defences and has tied the issue to any decision to allow the deployment of 10 interceptor missiles on its soil.
Poland wants an effective protection against possible air attacks, and sees the permanent stationing of Patriot missiles in Poland as meeting those needs. But Washington has only agreed to restricted loans of these weapons from those stationed in Germany, according to media reports in Warsaw.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday rejected as "insufficient" the latest US offer. He told journalists in Warsaw that the US should offer Poland "real security guarantees."
Sikorski, whose US visit ends on Wednesday, also plans to meet with the two designated presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack would not rule out the possibility negotations could be completed this week, when Rice will be in Prague to sign an agreement with the Czech Republic for hosting the system's radar.
"We didn't conclude them in time for the beginning of the secretary's travel," he said. "That doesn't mean we are not going to keep working on them."
Rice will also visit Bulgaria and Georgia on the trip that concludes Thursday.
Sikorski congratulated Washington and Prague on their agreement, saying it was good news for NATO and therefore for Poland.
Russia strongly opposes placing the US system in Europe and has threatened to target the bases. Washington has dismissed Russia's objections, saying the system is much too small to jeopardize Moscow strategic nuclear missile fleet.
