U.S., Russia to talk about missile defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Russia will hold senior-level talks about missile defense in Budapest next Thursday, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday.

"The United States will continue to discuss its ideas and proposals for U.S.-Russia missile defense cooperation as well as radar cooperation to jointly monitor ballistic missile threats launched out of the Middle East," the department said in a statement.

Washington submitted a package of documents to Moscow last month setting out compromise proposals it said were designed to soothe Russian concerns the planned U.S. missile defense shield threatens its national security.

The United States wants to station interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic as part of a shield it says is designed to protect Europe from "rogue states" like Iran and North Korea.

Russia believes the shield is targeted against its missile arsenal and poses a threat to its national security.

The U.S. delegation will be led by John Rood, the acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Russia's delegation will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak.

(Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Peter Cooney)