Putin hits US with new missile defence offer

KENNEBUNKPORT: Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed broadening US missile defence plans in Europe by bringing NATO into the project that has strained relations with the United States.

"It is possible to widen the number of European partners who might be interested in resolving this question" as part of a "platform of Russia-NATO cooperation," Putin told reporters here on Monday, where US President George W Bush hosted him at the Bush family's seaside retreat.

Bush did not back down however on his insistence that parts of the shield should be located in central Europe.

The United States says the system aims to ward off attack from "rogue states" such as Iran, but Russia fiercely opposes it, viewing it as a threat to its own security.

After informal talks aimed at soothing recent rancor between Moscow and Washington, Putin said he was ready to bring a new early warning radar facility stationed in southern Russia into the US plans.

Putin last month offered to switch the site of the US installations to Azerbaijan.

He also proposed yesterday setting up an online "information exchange center" in Moscow as part of the system, with a similar installation in a European city.

"In this case, there'd be no need to place any more facilities in Europe -- I mean, the (radar) facility in Czech Republic and the missile base in Poland," the Russian leader said.

Bush called Putin's offer a "very constructive and bold strategic move" that needed further examination. But he insisted that "the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of this system".