WARSAW, Poland: Poland’s prime minister said on Friday that the latest US offer to persuade his country to accept a missile defence facility is unsatisfactory, but stressed that he expects negotiations to continue.

Donald Tusk said that any deal must increase Poland’s security. He said his government believes that the latest offer, made earlier this week, does not fulfil that requirement. However, Tusk made clear Warsaw’s decision was not a final rejection of the US plan to place 10 missile defence interceptors in Poland as part of a shield against a possible Iranian attack.

“I wouldn’t talk about the end, suspension, or interruption,” he said at a news conference. “Negotiations, in my opinion, are continuing.” US officials in Poland could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday, America’s Fourth of July holiday. Russia has vehemently opposed the US plans to place the site in Poland, as well as a linked radar-tracking system in the Czech Republic, and has threatened to target both countries with missiles of its own.

Without citing Russia’s opposition to the plan explicitly, Tusk argued that placing a missile defence facility in Poland, a Soviet satellite during the Cold War, would create new security threats. “The installation of the missile shield in Poland increases above all the security of the United States. That’s important for us, for the whole world,” Tusk said. “However, the fact that the installation would be built on Polish territory also increases certain risks and threats for Poland.”

So far, “in the key issue of increasing Poland’s security, we didn’t achieve a result that would be satisfactory to Poland,” Tusk said. “We are waiting for an answer and declaration from the US side on this key demand.”

Poland has demanded the additional security guarantee of a short-range Patriot missile battery on its soil.

Tusk said the latest US offer fell short because it proposed placing a Patriot missile battery in Poland only temporarily, rather than permanently, as Warsaw has demanded.

“Air defence elements that would specifically defend Polish territory are absolutely key for Poland,” he said. “A temporary visit by such weapons, guaranteed only for one year, naturally does not increase our sense of security.” Tusk did not say whether there were other sticking points. Poland’s announcement delivers a potential setback to US President George W Bush’s plans to secure the European missile defence system sites before he leaves office in January. Still, plans for the Czech portion of the proposed shield are progressing more smoothly. On Friday, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said his government will sign a deal with the US next week on installing the radar in the Czech Republic. His government said Washington is expected to be represented at the signing by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a visit to the country.

However, such a deal still requires the approval of the Czech parliament, and it remains unclear whether the measure would pass. Missile defence is deeply unpopular among the Czech public, and the vote is parliament is expected to be extremely close. Tusk stressed that Poland is open to a more generous US deal.

“We are ready at any time to accept changes, corrections, proposals from the US side that take into consideration our demands on strengthening Poland’s security,” Tusk said. “That can be tomorrow, in a week, in a month.”

“I’m ready to close these negotiations under the one condition an obvious one from my point of view that the Polish side receives a real security guarantee in the event of the implementation of this project.”