NATO looks at "bolt-on" system for US shield

BRUSSELS, June 14 (Reuters) NATO defence ministers agreed today to study the idea of building a ''bolt-on'' missile defence system that would plug gaps in a planned US shield in Europe.

The ministers agreed the 26-member alliance should examine the implications of US plans to install its missile defence system in eastern Europe, a proposal which has raised tensions between Washington and Moscow.

The United States plans to use interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic, a configuration Washington says is ideal for blocking any missile, particularly from Iran, heading towards the United States and most of Europe.

However, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the shield would not cover all NATO allies. Analysts have said Turkey, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria could be at risk.

''The question is what are the political and military implications of the site,'' de Hoop Scheffer said.

''Secondly, would it be possible -- that will be the centre of the discussion -- in NATO to see that a system is developed ... that can be bolted on to the general missile defence system as it will it be installed by the United States?'' The study should be completed by next February and NATO officials hope the alliance can agree by a summit in April in Romania to start work on such a system, which would deploy complementary interceptors to cover southeast Europe.

US-RUSSIAN TENSIONS Russia has said the US scheme is a threat to its own security and that the proposed US bases on its doorstep could be converted to more dangerous uses in the future.

Tension between Washington and Moscow alarmed European NATO members, particularly after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to target Russian missiles on Europe if Washington went ahead with building the shield.

But Putin made a surprise offer at last week's Group of Eight summit to cooperate with the United States on missile defence by sharing data from a Russian-leased radar system in Azerbaijan.

While some analysts have questioned how technically viable the proposal is, the United States is portraying the offer as a sign the Russians have accepted many of its arguments, notably that a threat from ''rogue state'' missiles does exist.

''I think there is... a good spirit in the discussion between the United States and the Russian Federation,'' NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.

''No NATO nation today called into question the US discussion with their allies nor raised questions about its desirability or feasibility,'' he also said.

REUTERS GP BD2213