WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush met his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski at the White House on Monday with the two sides having defended plans for a missile defense shield strongly opposed by Russia.

    "There's no better symbol of our desire to work for peace and security than working on a missile defense system," Bush said as they held talks in the Oval Office.

    The missile shield "would provide a security for Europe from single-or dual-launch regimes that may emanate from parts of the world where leaders don't particularly care for our way of life and/or are in the process of trying to develop serious weapons of mass destruction," Bush said.

    Sharing with Bush's viewpoint, Kaczynski voiced support for planned U.S. missile defense project. "So it is really a defense instrument, missile defense instrument. And so I do hope that all this project, the whole project will be completed successfully," Kaczynski said through an interpreter.