"We will continue this dialogue so that Russia and us can work together on the creation of a global missile defense system," Beyrle was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as telling students at the Moscow Steel Institute.

U.S.-Russia relations have seen a dramatic warming-up since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama announced last year a new policy of resetting bilateral ties and overcoming Cold War era setbacks.

Although Obama last September scrapped Bush-era plans to deploy a strategic missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland, Washington has not given up its European missile shield initiative.

In May this year, the United States opened a temporary military base in Poland, just 80 km from the border of Russia's enclave of Kaliningrad, in accordance with an agreement negotiated under former President George W. Bush in 2008 -- a move which drew much criticism from Russia.

The United States is also in talks with Bulgaria and Romania on deploying elements of the U.S. missile shield on their territories from 2015 onwards.