During a visit in the Czech Republic, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin once again brought up the issue of the US anti-missile shield to be set in Europe, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kalfin said during a meeting with his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg that talks about the shield should be held within NATO.

At the same time, intentions of the US had to be clear, so that Russia did not feel threatened, Kalfin said as quoted by Xinhua.

Schwarzenberg said that the Czech Republic also believed the equipment to be installed in various European countries should be part of the NATO defence system.

Russia will continue being part of the talks on defence policies in the future, Schwarzenberg said.

US recently announced its intentions, which troubled Russia. Bulgaria remains outside the shield and local officials said on various occasions that the system should be integrated for all NATO members.