"We are not against the presence of Russian troops with standard and any other weapons on our territory," Igor Smirnov said in response to a question whether his region was ready to host Russian missiles.

"We have long said we are ready, we've asked to leave Russia's military presence (in Transdniestr) for good," Smirnov told a news conference in Moscow. The Russian-speaking region of Transdniestr broke away from Romanian-speaking Moldova in a war in the early 1990s but is not internationally recognised.

It hosts a contingent of Russian troops and a Soviet-era arms dump. Over 120,000 Transdniestr residents hold Russian passports.

A report in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily said that such a move to host weapons would provide a counterbalance to Romania's recent plans to host part of a new US missile shield system.

The newspaper said Smirnov had already discussed that possibility with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Smirnov confirmed his February 9 meeting with Lavrov to reporters but said he had not asked the Kremlin to station missiles in the region.

He expressed concern over Romania's plans to host medium-range ballistic missile interceptors as part of the US system, expected to be operational by 2015, saying that decision was not conducive to stability.

"I don't think it would be a stabilising factor," Smirnov said. "We are very closely watching this."

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