US president George Bush is interested in the opinion of his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Purvanov and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev concerning the positioning of a US anti-missile shield in Europe.

A representative of the US embassy in Bulgaria gave the information on June 6, Novinar daily reported.

Bush will visit Bulgaria on June 10 and will meet the Bulgarian officials on June 11.

The diplomat said that it is still unclear if the US asked Bulgaria about the expansion of the shield. Washington was interested in maintaining unity within NATO and providing the same level of defence for all countries.

NATO members were already discussing the positioning of the shield, the diplomat said.

During his visit to Bulgaria Bush is expected to calm down Russian fears that the anti-missile shield targets Moscow.

Bulgaria remains outside the shield for the time being. Several days ago Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said that the country had many questions in relation to the shield.