- 3 March 2009
- 1 Comments
- Diplomacy, Iran Election 2009, Nuclear file, Persian Gulf, Sanctions, UN
From Russia’s RIA Novosti:
Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran’s nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.
U.S. President Barack Obama made the proposal on Iran in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Kommersant said, referring to unidentified U.S. officials.
I’ve long believed that someone should write a book about the complicated ballet of US-Russian-Iranian relations. Maybe they can call it “Treacherous Triangle.”…
The dispute over missile defense dates back to the Cold War, but is at the forefront of US-Russian tensions still today. Along with concerns of NATO’s expansion Eastward, the Russians view the proposed missile site in Poland and the corresponding radar in the Czech Republic as an encroachment on their national security.
If one were honest, one could argue that the missile shield was really George W. Bush’s baby. Obama has never seemed all that convinced of its necessity (especially given that despite billions of dollars, the missile defense program has yet to prove it even works), and this latest move shouldn’t come as a great surprise. But it does raise some interesting questions about the geopolitical approach Obama might take toward Iran in particular and Russia and Iran in general.