Admiral Mike Mullen, (file photo)The top U.S. military officer is in Moscow for talks on missiledefense, arms control and other issues in advance of U.S. PresidentBarack Obama's visit to the Russian capital in 10 days.  

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefsof Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the U.S. desire to put a missiledefense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, which Russia stronglyopposes, will be a key topic of his talks in Moscow.

"Clearlythe issue of missile defense is something that's been a significanttopic and issue for Russia and the United States and that will, I'msure, be something that we talk about," he said.

The admiralsaid he will be seeking a better understanding of the Russianmilitary's view of the missile defense plan, which top Russianpolitical leaders have sharply criticized.  

Mullen's talks comejust days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there will beno progress on broader arms control talks unless the United Statesabandons the European missile defense plan. The renewal and expansionof a strategic arms reduction treaty that expires in December will bethe primary topic for the Obama-Medvedev summit.  

U.S. officials saythe missile defense system does not threaten Russia or its defenses,but rather is designed to counter the growing missile threat from Iran. 

But Admiral Mullen says while missile defense and arms controlwill be on his agenda when he meets senior Russian military officersand defense ministry officials during the next two days, he believesthere are also many other topics to discuss.

"We have areas ofcommon interests, whether it's security interests in Afghanistan, thearea of piracy, the area of terrorism," he said. "Those are the kindsof things that I'm sure we'll have robust discussions on. And therewill I'm sure be discussions on the areas we differ on. And I thinkit's important to continue those discussions as well to understand eachother's positions."

This is Admiral Mullen's first visit toMoscow as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But because of theimportance of security issues for the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit, aspokesman says President Obama has taken the unusual step of askingAdmiral Mullen to return to Moscow in early July to join him at thosemeetings.