Russia sees US missile shield talks in October

MOSCOW, Aug 1 (Reuters) Russian foreign and defence ministers will meet their US counterparts in October to discuss US missile shield plans that have soured ties between them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today.

''The meeting in the 'two plus two' format will be held in Moscow in the first 10 days of October,'' Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as telling Moscow media during a visit to the Philippines capital of Manila.

Moscow at first reacted furiously to Washington's initiative to deploy elements of a missile shield near Russia's borders, threatening in response to target its own missiles at Europe and prompting talk of a new Cold War.

But last month President Vladimir Putin toned down the threats and instead proposed a collective missile shield in which Russia and European states would participate along with the United States.

Russia says it does not believe Iran's rocket technologies pose a threat to the United States, as Washington argues, and says the elements of the US missile shield to be stationed in the Czech Republic and Poland may threaten its own security.

''We have not heard any convincing facts which would refute our assessments,'' Russian agencies quoted Lavrov as saying.

On July 30-31, deputy Russian and US foreign ministers held consultations on the missile shield plan in Washington.

Lavrov said he disagreed with the US side's insistence that a joint analysis on potential threats should not have an impact on the deployment of the U.S. shield in Eastern Europe.

''Our vision is somewhat different -- before one does something, there must be a joint analysis of threats,'' he said.

Lavrov said a new round of consultations between deputy foreign ministers, defence ministry officials and intelligence experts would be held in Moscow in the first half on September.

REUTERS RS KP2317