Agence France-Presse,
Moscow (AFP): Russian and US diplomats will meet in Paris on Monday to discuss Washington's plans for an anti-missile defence system in central Europe, a Russian foreign ministry official told AFP Thursday.
“There will be a second round of consultations on the US anti-missile shield project on September 10 in Paris,” the ministry representative, Boris Malakhov, said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak will lead the Russian team, he said.
A first round of talks on the plans, which have angered Moscow, took place in late July in Washington.
They were also likely to come up during talks between US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an Asian regional summit in Sydney this weekend, the Kremlin said.
Washington says it needs to install missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic to guard against potential threats from Iran and North Korea.
Moscow says the true aim of the system would be to aim at Russia and dent the country's offensive nuclear capability.
Moscow has suggested that the US military instead use a Russian-leased radar system already in place in the ex-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.
Talks between Azerbaijani, Russian and US experts are expected in the Azerbaijani capital Baku on September 15
