WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States will help Poland modernize its military as part of an agreement to deploy part of a new U.S. missile defense system in the country, President George W. Bush said here on Monday.

    "The United States recognizes the need for Polish forces to be modernized," Bush told reporters after talks with visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House. He did not give any details.

    In January 2007, the United States proposed the installing parts of its anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move strongly opposed by Russia.

    Russia warned that the deployment of anti-missile shield, which threatens Russia's security, could trigger a new arms race. But The United States insisted that the shield is designed to intercept rockets fired against it from the Middle or Far East.

    Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, who visited Washington last month, said that he had reached an agreement in principle with the United States on U.S. plans to install a missile defense system in the country.

    Sikorski did not outline the terms of the deal. But U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested at the time that the United States would help with Poland's air defenses, which the latter has asked for in the deal.

    "We understand that there is a desire for defense modernization in Poland, and particularly for air defense modernization in Poland," Rice said.