UPDATE 2-U.S-Polish pact is condition for shield-minister

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WARSAW, June 6 (Reuters) - A political and security pact with the United States is Warsaw's main condition for hosting some of the planned U.S anti-missile shield, Poland's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"The main condition is that this installation serves Poland's security and this will be ensured by a bilateral political and security pact with the United States," Witold Waszczykowski, Poland's negotiator on the project, told private radio TOKFM. Poland expects President George W. Bush to give his opinion about such a deal during a visit on June 8.

Some Polish officials say a stronger bilateral alliance with the U.S would provide a better source of security for the central European state than it derives from being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

"NATO should provide an equal sense of security for all its members, and we do get a sense of security. But NATO as with any system can be improved," President Lech Kaczynski said after meeting NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels on Wednesday.

Washington has so far been cautious on offering such a pact and points out that Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty already offers its 26 members a guarantee that they will come to each other's aid in the event of attack.

"We have said we are ready to protect the site itself. We are prepared to sit down and talk with them about the military requirements," said one senior U.S. official.

"The fact of hosting parts of the shield in itself brings new quality into the relationship," the official added.

The plan to place interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic has led to a row with Russia. President Vladimir Putin has threatened to aim Russian missiles at Europe if the U.S goes ahead with the plan.

Washington says the installation is a purely defensive measure to protect Europe and the U.S against nations such as Iran or North Korea. Moscow regards the shield as a threat to its security interests.

Bush visited the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Poland's Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said on Wednesday a Czech "Yes" to the shield would not have any impact on the Polish decision. (A_dditional reporting by Mark John in Brussels)

Keywords: SHIELD POLAND/