Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in Warsawon Monday that Poland holds a different position on the deployment of the US anti-missile system in Europe so it has lagged behind the Czech Republic concerning talks with Washington.

The Polish top diplomat's remarks came on the same day when his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolanek announced he would finalize the radar talks with Washington during his two-day visit to the United States starting Tuesday.

The Polish Foreign Minister said as talks on the missile shield were underway, Poland was also negotiating with the United States on helping enhance Poland's military capability.

That partly explained why Poland has lagged behind the Czechs on the missile shield talks, the Foreign Minister said.

In addition, Poland's parliamentary elections held last year also delayed the finalization of the talks, he added.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland's talks would soon be completed, but before that, the country needed to make sure such a deal serves both the interests of the United States and Poland.

The Czech government said no agreement would be signed during Topolanek's visit as he wanted to coordinate the final steps with Poland. According to latest opinion polls, some 70 percent of Czechs oppose the proposed radar base in their soil.

The United States is negotiating with Warsaw and Prague on the possible installation of 10 interceptor missile sites in Poland by 2012 and associated radar stations in the Czech Republic as part of its European missile shield.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2008)