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MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the United States will discuss plans to establish a global anti-missile defense system during U.S. senior officials' upcoming visits to Moscow, though the two were in quarrel on deploying such facilities in central Europe.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will visit Moscow on April 23 and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will "most likely visit in May," Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying on Tuesday.

During the visits, Russia will discuss a U.S. plan on forging a global anti-missile defense system, Ivanov said.

"We will set out our vision and our assessments of these plans in terms of Russia's security interests, and in terms of international and regional safety...This umbrella will cover friends and allies. However, who is holding this umbrella? Who is steering it?" he said.

The United States in January proposed installing parts of its anti-missile shield in central Europe, including some interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from Russia, which warned it could trigger arms race.

The plan also prompted concern from U.S. allies such as Germany and France. Poland and the Czech Republic, however, welcomed the U.S. missile plans.

WARSAW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Polish Defense Minister Aleksander Szczyglo met here Tuesday with Russian Ambassador to Poland Vladimir Grinin to discuss the deployment in Poland of elements of the U.S. anti-missile shield.

The minister told Polish PAP news agency that the "talk was held in a friendly climate."

During the meet, Szczyglo stressed that Poland was interested in the U.S. proposal and expressed the hope that the Polish-U.S. agreement would be of bilateral nature. He assured the Russian side that the deployment posed no threat to the Russian Federation. Full story

Pentagon: no congressional approval needed for missile defense system in Europe

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- If the Pentagon can convince Poland and the Czech Republic to host U.S. missile defense systems,it doesn't need approval from the U.S. Congress to install them, aPentagon official said.

The official, Brian Green, a deputy assistant defense secretary,told a Senate subcommittee so Wednesday, according to a report from the website of Defense News Thursday. Full story