03 March 2009
Obama Seeks Improved Relations with Russia
No “secret proposals” to abandon missile defense, officials say
Washington — The United States seeks improved relations with Russia through strengthened partnerships to confront a wide range of shared diplomatic and security challenges, says President Obama.
“My hope is that we can have a constructive relationship where, based on common respect and mutual interest, we can move forward,” Obama said at the White House March 3 during a joint press appearance with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Since taking office, Obama has exchanged letters and several phone calls with his Russian counterpart, President Dmitry Medvedev, on ways to rebuild ties between Washington and Moscow. Those ties have been strained in recent years by Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, as well as the Kremlin’s concerns about NATO expansion and a proposed European-based missile defense system.
Obama disputed a New York Times article published earlier in the day echoing similar reports in the Russian media claiming that Obama’s latest letter to Medvedev included an offer to abandon the proposed missile defense system in exchange for Moscow’s help in discouraging Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
“What I said in the letter is the same thing that I’ve said publicly, which is that the missile defense that we have talked about deploying is directed toward not Russia but Iran,” Obama said. “And what I said in the letter was that, obviously, to the extent that we are lessening Iran’s commitment to nuclear weapons, then that reduces the pressure for or the need for a missile defense system.”
Medvedev said in a March 3 news conference in Moscow that Obama’s letter contained “no talk about some kind of trade-off, or quid pro quo.” In response to the New York Times article, Russian foreign ministry officials have also confirmed that Obama’s letter to Medvedev contained no “secret proposals.”
Missile defense was one of several issues covered in the letter, Obama explained. “I’ve said that we need to reset or reboot the relationship there. Russia needs to understand our unflagging commitment to the independence and security of countries like Poland or the Czech Republic. On the other hand, we have areas of common concern,” he said, including combating terrorism, cooperation in confronting the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, and an increasingly serious global financial crisis.
In 2008, the United States concluded agreements with Poland to host 10 interceptor missiles and the Czech Republic to host a tracking radar component for the proposed system. Russia long has regarded the proposed missile defense system as a security threat, despite repeated U.S. assurances and offers to Russia to monitor or even participate in developing the system, whose capabilities and cost remain a subject of debate among many top U.S. policymakers in the new administration. (See “United States Wants to Consult with Russia on Missile Defense.”)
Missile defense is among several security issues currently under review by the new administration, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
“I don’t think at all that this is trying to put the Russians on the spot,” Gates said when asked about the media reports. “I think it is trying to reopen a dialogue and say, ‘We are open to talking with you about how we address this problem and how we can move forward.’”
Obama’s remarks follow a recent visit to Moscow by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns — a former U.S. ambassador to Russia — on missile defense, as well as efforts to renew a key U.S.-Russian arms control treaty set to expire at the end of 2009. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will meet with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva March 6. (See “Time to Revisit Relations with Russia, Biden Says.”)
Obama and Medvedev will hold their first official meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London April 2.
A transcript of Obama’s remarks is available on America.gov.
What actions do you think President Obama should take to improve U.S.-Russian relations? Comment on America.gov’s blog.
