Russia will not peddle Iran away for missile defence – Medvedev
Published: 04 March, 2009, 04:20
TAGS: Russia, Obama, Middle East, Politics, USA
Foreign policy exchange to solve the problem of deployment of the US AMD system in Eastern Europe is counter-productive and unacceptable, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during his official visit to Spain.
At a joint media briefing with the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Russian president denied receiving any offer of a trade-off of the Iranian nuclear problem in exchange for the cancellation of deployment of American anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe.
Medvedev also labelled any kinds of trade-offs in foreign relations as counter-productive. The Russian president also said that Moscow is encouraged by the positive signals from Washington.
Thus, Medvedev commented on earlier media speculation about entering into correspondence with the US president on the matter of American missile-defence in Europe.
“If the new US administration manifests common sense and proposes a new alternative plan that would satisfy all Europeans and Washington, and would be acceptable to our country, we are ready to discuss it,” Medvedev stated.
“It should be a global defence system, not a fragment located near the Russian border. The signals we are getting from Washington show they are ready to talk about it. And there are no trade-offs concerning Iran's nuclear programme. We have been working very closely with the US on this issue,” he added, speaking at the media converence
 AFP Photo / Mandel Ngan |
On his part US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he didn’t propose any trade-off deals involving the AMD system in Europe and Iranian nuclear ambitions to Medvedev.
“What I said in the letter is what I have said publicly, which is that the missile defence that we have talked about deploying is directed toward, not Russia, but Iran,” he said.
He added that if Iran’s commitment to nuclear weapons was lessened, it would lower the pressure to build an anti-missile shield.
Earlier this week Russian newspaper Kommersant Daily and The New York Times reported that about three weeks ago Obama had sent a letter to Medvedev.
Obama allegedly expressed the opinion that the US could possibly halt deployment of missile defence systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in return for Moscow helping Washington to block the Iranians’ nuclear programme and prevent them from developing nuclear weapons.
However, both sides have said that no such trade-off proposal had been exchanged.
Spain and Russia: strategic partners
President Medvedev is coming to the end of his two-day visit to Spain. He's signed a deal which will provide Spain with gas from the Russian Far East, and an agreement allowing Spanish military supplies to travel via Russia to Afghanistan.
Also, the two countries have signed a declaration on strategic partnership in all spheres of relations, including political, economic, cultural, scientific, technical and educational sectors.
“The parties have reached an agreement to improve the mechanism of broad and regular interstate consultations and agree that the Russian president and the Spanish prime minister will meet at least once a year to give impetus to the entire spectrum of relations that make up the strategic partnership,” the document reads.
The two parties have also confirmed their joint co-operation on counter-terrorism, the fight against organised crime and drug-trafficking.
03.03.2009, 22:03
Can Russian and US agree on missile?Dmitry Suslov from Council for Foreign and Defence Policy in Moscow and Andrew Grotto from centre for American Progress in Washington express Russia’s and U.S. positions on missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. |
04.03.2009, 10:20
First US supplies to Afghanistan go through RussiaThe first American cargo intended for NATO forces in Afghanistan has passed through Russian territory and is now heading through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. |
The response is very timely. It would also make sense for President Obama to deny such reports. One cannot imagine any benefit of asking Russia to convince Iran to drop its nuclear "ambitions", assuming that means giving up its presumably covert effort to develop nuclear weapons, since Russia does not see Iranian nuclear program threatening to either Russia or the region. Russia has always maintained that Iranian program is peaceful. Russia has joined others in calling for the moratorium on enrichment, but Russia has resisted the ever-creaping regime of sanctions. The entire premise of moratorium on enrichment has already lost its original purpose --- the goodwill gesture to open a dialogue with US. It is clear that only Iran and US in direct dialogue can reach a level of understanding that would satisfy both nations. Russia will not bargain with other countries' interests, and US cannot be seen to use the missile shield as a threat to Russia. As long as the Secretary of State, Clinton, declares that the chances of talking to Iran are small, little can be done by other well-wishers. So far, Iran has taken every opportunity to express its willingness --- even eagerness --- to establish dialogue with US. This is a window of opportunity that US needs to take. Russia has an ongoing economic and military ties with Iran, and values the relationship. The suspicion on the part of US about the peacefll nature of Iran's nuclear program can only be addressed by the parties themselves.
Medvedev took the right position. The US creates problems for Russia and uses it as bargaining chip to get Russia’s concessions elsewhere, in this case Iran. AMD and Iran are separate issues and always have been. The US will be forced to abandon AMD just because they cannot afford it.