Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter

Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter
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PETER BAKER
Published: March 2, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia’s president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday.


Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti, via Associated Press
Moscow has not responded to the letter that was hand-delivered to President Dmitri A. Medvedev, above, three weeks ago.

The letter to President Dmitri A. Medvedev was hand-delivered in Moscow by top administration officials three weeks ago. It said the United States would not need to proceed with the interceptor system, which has been vehemently opposed by Russia since it was proposed by the Bush administration, if Iran halted any efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/washington/03prexy.html?_r=2

It sounds a bit like the details that came out of the secret negotiations between Barak and Arafat.

I was a bit shocked though when I first saw the headline. It's kind of a take-your-pick situation that Russia is now in. We'll see...should be interesting.

Republicans would rather start a war.

That "missile defense system" never worked, and it has already cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. It never should have been implemented. President Obama will be saving us billions by stopping this huge money pit.

entice the Russians to help us.

I heard that this morning on MSNBC.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/3/3/14356/08647

The Lost Art of Letter Writing & Diplomacy

by Charles Lemos, Tue Mar 03, 2009 at 01:43:56 AM EST


According to the New York Times, the President sent a secret and hand written letter to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev last month suggesting that the United States would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons. The Bush Administration argued that these deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic were to protect Europe from Iranian missile threats. The Russians thought otherwise and made their displeasure known threatening to point their still vast nuclear arsenal backs toward the continent.

By linking the deployment of the missile shield in Eastern Europe to Russian cooperation in halting Iran's efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles, the Administration is putting the Russians on the spot. The question in Moscow right now must be which relationship do we value more, the American or the Iranian? Alternatively, the Russians might try to figure how to bring the Americans and Iranians to a different plane. Furthermore while the Bush Administration effectively ignored Russian concerns to strategic detriment (recognizing Kosovo was a historic blunder), the Obama Administration is actively seeking to incorporate Moscow as a responsible actor with a role to play on the global stage. There is some risk to trusting Moscow, but the offsets are worth the risk.

Last week, Al Jazeera reported that Iran had conducted a successful test run of its Russian-built nuclear power plant, in the southern port city of Bushehr. Moscow, which is supplying fuel for the reactor, has said the it would not be used for military goals. The plant is expected to come online in the next seven months. According to published reports, Hassan Ghashghavi, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that Sergei Shmatko, the Russian energy minister, will visit Tehran in the next few days. His trip is expected to focus on nuclear energy co-operation between the two countries. It seems this meeting might offer the first clues to any change in the Russo-Iranian relationship.

It's important to note that the Obama Administration is attempting to secure Russian cooperation in preventing Iranian development of long-range missiles not on Iran's development of safe nuclear power though it is likely that Administration will want the Russians to urge Iran to co-operate with the international community and be transparent over its nuclear program. Still the beauty of this hand written letter and the diplomatic effort behind it is that the Administration's overture reformulates the missile issue in a way intended to appeal to the Russians while serving the American strategic goal of preventing Iran from developing its missile technology.

snip//

It's a smart move by the Obama Administration. Getting the Russian relationship reset to one of mutual understanding and cooperation is of vital importance to the strategic interests of the United States on issues ranging from the Balkans to Iran to Central Asia to issues of nuclear proliferation and global energy. The President plays the geo-political game well and he is reviving the lost art of letter writing and diplomacy to achieve broad and strategic US aims.

characterize the letter correctly.

once the cat is out of the bag you have to do your best to characterize it in your own words.