Russia's top diplomat to have shield talks in Poland

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Poland next week for talks on a plan, opposed by Moscow, to station parts of the U.S. missile shield on Polish soil, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"This visit is planned," spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters at a news briefing. "I am convinced the topic of Poland signing (an agreement on) the U.S. missile shield deployment will be raised," he said.

Lavrov will also discuss with Polish officials the conflict in Georgia and Russia's relations with the European Union, the spokesman said. Poland has been one of the toughest EU critics of the Kremlin's intervention in Georgia.

Nesterenko said the Russian foreign minister was expected to travel to Poland for the talks on September 11.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Giles Elgood)