Russian support for efforts to curb Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear weapon activities could lead the United States to move away from plans to deploy missile defenses in Eastern Europe, according to a letter sent last month by U.S. President Barack Obama to his counterpart in Moscow (see GSN, Feb. 26).
(Mar. 3) -
U.S. President Barack Obama is reviewing plans to field missile defenses in Eastern Europe (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images).
Russia has been outspoken in its opposition to the Bush administration plan for 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic. It has publicly characterized the system as a strategic threat, dismissing Washington's assertion that the sites are intended to counter a growing Iranian missile threat.
The Obama administration has expressed questions about the plan but has not yet formally described its intentions for the European missile defenses.
Senior U.S. officials gave the letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev three weeks ago, the New York Times reported. The administration did not offer a direct trade but said the United States would see no need for the bases if Iran could be convinced to end suspect missile and nuclear activities. Moscow has been reluctant to move too harshly against Tehran, but also has ties to Iran that could give it leverage in the ongoing standoff.
“It’s almost saying to them, put up or shut up,” said one high-level U.S. administration official. “It’s not that the Russians get to say, ‘We’ll try and therefore you have to suspend.’ It says the threat has to go away.”
There has been no official word back from the Kremlin; however, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to raise the missile defense issue during his meeting Friday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Obama and Medvedev are scheduled to meet April 2 in London.
The Obama administration has sought to "press the reset button" on relations with Russia, which became severely strained in the later years of the Bush administration. The new leadership in Washington is taking another look at a proposal that President George W. Bush had rejected -- placing part of the system in Russia. That, though, could give officials there the ability to turn the system on or off at their discretion, the Times reported.
Washington would also have to deal with diplomatic fallout in Prague and Warsaw, where leaders took political risks by signing the unpopular base deals. Incentives promised to the two nations, such as deploying a U.S. Patriot battery in Poland, might have to be delivered even if the missile shield plan evaporates (Peter Baker, New York Times, March 3).
Medvedev today expressed appreciation for Obama's willingness to consider the issue but said there has been "no talk about some kind of trade-off, or quid pro quo," the Associated Press reported.
"Issues haven't been put that way, it would be unproductive," he said during a trip to Spain.
"Our American partners are ready to discuss this problem, and that's already positive," Medvedev told reporters. "Several months ago we were hearing different signals: The decision has been made, there is nothing to discuss, we will do what we have decided to do."
"Now I hope the situation is different," he said. "But no one is linking these issues to some kind of trade-offs, particularly on the Iranian issue. We are already working in close contact with our U.S. counterparts on the Iranian nuclear issue" (Steven Hurst, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, March 3).