Signaling a thaw in relations that had chilled under the previous Polish government, Russia and Poland said on Tuesday that they would hold consultations over plans by the US to deploy elements of a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe.
The announcement in Moscow was welcomed by the NATO military alliance, which supports talks between the countries.
"NATO would certainly welcome the greatest possible bilateral consultations on the issue of the US missile defense proposal, and not just in the NATO context," said James Appathurai, an alliance spokesman. "We need to lower the temperature on this issue and move to common ground."
In Moscow, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the talks would be held in Warsaw early next year.
"I am happy there will be discussions over the missile defense shield," he said.
He said that the government of Polish former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski -- defeated in October by Donald Tusk -- had refused to discuss the issue with Moscow.
On taking office, the Tusk government moved quickly to improve relations with Moscow. Radoslaw Sikorski, the new foreign minister, held talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Brussels this month at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. Both agreed to start consultations over the anti-ballistic-missile shield, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.
Russia has taken a tough stance against the US plan to deploy missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, saying it would undermine Russia's national security -- a concern Warsaw, Prague and Washington have repeatedly dismissed. They maintain that the system was conceived to protect Europe from attacks by so-called rogue states.
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