US President George Bush has agreed to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, next week in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The meeting will take place after the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.

Accepting an invitation from Mr Putin, President Bush said they would discuss American plans to site a missile defence system in Eastern Europe.

Russia has strongly criticised the US proposals, which would see interceptor missiles based in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.

President Bush has told reporters he is optimistic that a deal can be reached.

Last week US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks with senior officials in the Russian capital.

After that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Izvestiya newspaper that the US had agreed to allow Moscow to monitor the missile defence system.