Experts visited the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan amid tensions over U.S. plans to install elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, former Soviet satellites that are now members of NATO.

A Russian-operated radar station in Gabala, Azerbaijan, is seen in this May, 2006 file photo. U.S. missile defense experts on Tuesday visited the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan at the heart of Moscow's offer of cooperation against potential missile threats from nations including Iran. (AP Photo/File) (AP)

Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, deputy director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said the experts were interested in what the Russian-leased radar station could offer but seemed to indicate it was too old for the purpose of defending against a potential threat from Iran _ Washington's main argument for building the European system.

"Our impression here was that it is a radar that has performed the function it was designed to by the Russians back in the '80s and has been performing since and we are evaluating how that would fit in with a mutually beneficial cooperative way ahead," O'Reilly told reporters after the visit.

Russia fears that the U.S. anti-missile efforts are aimed at weakening their country and upsetting the strategic balance. They have dismissed U.S. arguments that the installations are intended to counter a potential threat from Iran.

President Vladimir Putin surprised President Bush in June with an offer to share the towering Gabala station and a second radar under construction in southern Russia.

The Bush administration welcomed the proposal but refused Russia's demand that it suspend plans for sites in Europe during talks with Moscow.

Tuesday's meeting came after two rounds of talks that brought no signs of progress in bridging the rift. The issue is among the most divisive in strained relations between Moscow and Washington.

A top Russian military official voiced hope that Tuesday's visit would help jump-start the talks with new ideas for cooperation.

"The work was fruitful, at least we heard words of gratitude from our American colleagues, and the work that was done allowed us to switch from discussions and briefings to the practical matters," said Maj. Gen. Alexander Yakushin, first deputy chief of staff of Russia's Space Forces.

However, Yakushin earlier suggested Moscow still disagrees with Washington's view of the potential threat from Iran.

While Washington estimates Iran could become capable of launching an intercontinental missile by about 2015, Russia believes Iran is decades away.

"The most important task now is to react adequately to threats that really exist to the south (of Russia), and not future hypothetical threats of 2020-25," RIA-Novosti quoted Yakushin as saying.

Yakushin also emphasized that Russia wants the United States to halt all moves toward installation of a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, RIA-Novosti reported.

The Bush administration is interested in the radars that Putin has offered, but in addition to the system planned for Central Europe, not a substitute.

The Gabala radar is of a type that could not perform the same function as the one planned for the Czech Republic.

The U.S.-built radar would track a missile after it had been detected by other means. The missile defense system also would need other radars to detect launches.

While the U.S. has some of those capabilities, the Gabala facility's proximity to Iran _ just south of Azerbaijan _ could help identify missile trajectories earlier.