Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama might be willing to negotiate over Washington's plan to build missile defense installations in Eastern Europe, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 20).
Moscow has long opposed the Bush administration's plan to place a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland.
When asked about the possibility of U.S. missile defense policy changing in the next U.S. administration, Medvedev said: "There are chances, because if the position of the current administration on this question looks extremely inflexible, the position of the president-elect looks more careful."
"It shows at least our future American partners are thinking about this. ... They don't have a once-and-for-always prepared template for solving this problem," he added. "It means dialogue is possible. ... A change of position is possible."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States to roll back plans for the shield.
"There has been no easing of our concerns," Lavrov told reporters yesterday. "Our concerns can only be removed by one thing -- the renunciation of plans for unilateral establishment of a missile defense system and an agreement to work together from scratch" (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Nov. 24).
Russia's top military official said Friday that it would only consider U.S. proposals on the missile shield that are presented formally, RIA Novosti reported.
"There have been many proposals on the American missile plans for Europe," said Gen. Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the Russian general staff. "But they are only statements. When they are legally formalized, we will consider them" (RIA Novosti, Nov. 21).
Meanwhile, Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Dvorkin suggested that U.S. missile defenses could eventually become capable of targeting space-based assets, Interfax reported.
"It's possible to create space-based borders under the banner of antimissile defense. In 2010 this will be an air-based laser. All this poses a serious threat to space objects," Dvorkin said.
The general called for an international pact to govern the use of weapons in space (see GSN, Feb. 13; Interfax, Nov. 21).