The United States may start building a missile shield in Poland in February 2008, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in an interview published in a Russian newspaper on Monday.

Washington wants to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect the United States and its allies from potential missile attacks from Iran.

"If by autumn this year we reach a final agreement with the U.S. and if Congress votes in favor of funding the whole program, the (construction) work may indeed begin as soon as in February next year," Waszczykowski told Novye Izvestia.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski is due to meet his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush later on Monday to iron out details of the planned missile defense.