A published report says the United States has offered to integrate some of its missile defense systems with Russia in an effort to ease Moscow's opposition to the U.S. using sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The New York Times newspaper Saturday quotes unnamed officials as saying that package would include an invitation to link some of U.S. and Russian anti-missile systems.
The report quotes a senior official involved in the talks as saying the initiatives include "deeper, more specific and more concrete" offers than any previous proposal for cooperation by the Bush administration to the Kremlin.
The United States wants to build 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar site in the Czech republic to prevent possible attacks from rogue states such as Iran or North Korea. But the Kremlin considers the missile shield a threat to Russia.
The European Union has urged the United States to allay Russia concerns.
The New York Times reports that the offers of cooperation will be discussed in the coming weeks in a series of high-level meetings between U.S. and Russian officials.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
