Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has hailed Washington's move to cancel its missile plans in Europe, while a senior official suggests Moscow may abort its retaliatory plans.

On Friday, Prime Minister Putin welcomed the 'correct and brave' move by the US to decide against deploying missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic as part of a global missile defense shield, Reuters reported.

The former US administration came up with the plan which, it claimed, would head off alleged missile threats posed by "rogue states", like Iran and North Korea.

Russia, however, denounced the move as a 'security threat,' and warned to respond by installing potent Iskander-M missile systems in Kaliningrad, an exclave near Poland.

Russian envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin on Friday hinted that Moscow could scrap the precautionary measure. "I hope you can understand logic ... if we have no radars or no missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland, we don't need to find some response."

The envoy made the comments after NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen sought Russia's cooperation with the alliance in enhancing mutual defense.

Putin, however, asserted that he expected the White House to follow through and enable a "complete removal of all restrictions on the transfer of high technology to Russia."

He also insisted that the US should "widen the membership of the World Trade Organization to (include) Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had previously accused the US of "blocking" Russia's accession to the 153-member organization which the country has been seeking to join since 1993.

HN/MD