WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- President George W. Bush on Monday defended that U.S. missile defense system is to prevent attacks from the "rogue regimes" and reiterated his country's call for Russia to take part in the plan.

    "Our intention of course is to have a defense system that prevents rogue regimes from holding western Europe and/or America hostage," Bush said as he welcomed European Union leaders to the White House for the annual US-EU summit.

    "Our intention is to say to Russia that 'the system is something you ought to think about participating in,'" Bush said.

    The United States plans to base missile interceptors in Poland and radar units in the Czech Republic as part of a project to extend the missile defense system to Europe, a precautious measure that, Washington says, is to defend threat from the Middle East threats.

    The U.S. plan, due to start operating in 2011, has been sharply criticized by Russia. Moscow said that as Iran had no long-range ballistic missiles that could hit Europe, the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe could not be directed against Iran. They suggest that the real target of the anti-missile system is Moscow.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S. deployment is a threat to Russia's national security. He threatened last week to pull out of a key post-Cold War treaty that set limits on the deployment of military forces in Europe.

    Seeking to overcome Russia's strong opposition to the U.S. sponsored missile shield, Washington reportedly has invited Russia to link missile systems, including offers to cooperate on developing defense technology and to share intelligence about common threats, as well as to permit Russians to inspect the future missile bases.