Polish-American talks on Washington's plans to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of its missile defense shield have stalled. Poland's prime minister said on Friday his country was not satisfied with the terms offered by the U.S., but was ready for further dialogue.
Polish television said Radoslaw Sikorski would speak with Democratic candidate Obama over the phone on Monday, and meet with McCain, the Republican hopeful, on Tuesday or Wednesday.
President George W. Bush, who has been trying to reach a deal with the Poles on missile defense, will step down after presidential elections in November. The Polish missile base would be linked to a radar tracking system in the Czech Republic, for which a deal is to be signed this week.
Warsaw has been pushing Washington to provide billions of dollars of investment in Poland's air defenses in exchange for allowing the deployment of interceptor missiles, citing heightened risks for the country following Russia's threats to target its missiles at U.S. facilities in Europe.
Moscow has vehemently opposed the U.S. missile plans as a threat to its national security and the international nuclear deterrence system. Washington says the shield is needed to counter a possible missile strike from Iran.
