BRUSSELS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said here Thursday that the Washington is willing to "work and partner" with Russia on the issue of missile defense, which has caused tensions in the two countries' relations.

    Speaking to reporters following the meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), Gates said that the United States welcomed the Russian proposal on sharing an Azeri radar base.

    On the sidelines of last week's summit of Group of Eight (G8) in Heiligendamm, Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President George W. Bush that he could drop opposition to the U.S. missile defense system in Europe if Washington shared a radar base in Azerbaijan with Russia instead of setting up a new one in the Czech Republic.

    However, when asked whether experts from the two countries could conclude a report on the proposal before next month's Bush-Putin meeting, Gates said he was "skeptical" even on whether the experts could gather before the U.S.-Russian summit.

    Gates is in the NATO headquarters for a two-day meeting of defense ministers of the military bloc, which opened Thursday morning. ¡¡