President George W. Bush asked Congress to aid the Polish military

The United States may seek another site for its missile defense plan if talks with Poland fail, a senior U.S. official said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.

The official, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was still optimistic with talks on the European missile defense project, which will see placement of 10 missile interceptors in Poland, even though a number of issues remain unresolved.

"But if we are unsuccessful, we will certainly respect their sovereignty, and we will pursue alternatives - another option to a location for the interceptor site, simply because we need to deal with the (missile) threat," he said.

The U.S. wants to install interceptor rockets in Poland and a tracking radar in Czech Republic to shield the United States and its allies from attack. Russia has been opposed to the plan from the start. Talks with Czech Republic have finished, but Poland has set tough conditions, including that the U.S. spends billions of dollars on modernizing the Polish air defences.

In response, the Bush administration, last week, asked Congress for $20 million to aid the Polish military as a form to satisfy the Polish demands and see a completion of the missile defense deal. The request is not finalized as it needs to be approved by Congress, however, it's a sign to Poland that U.S. wants to complete negotiations.

"At the end of the day though, this is Polish territory, and Czech territory, and those governments will have the final say about what occurs in their country, including with respect to the Russians - as well as the Americans who will be at these sites," the official said.

The Bush administration is keen on finalizing the project before George W. Bush's term ends in January and talks will continue next week in Prague when U.S., Polish, Czech and NATO officials are expected to attend a conference on missile defense.

Source: Reuters