From the ABC

27/10/07

The US has reacted with puzzlement and concern to Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks, likening US missile defence expansion in Europe with the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says Mr Putin's hardline rhetoric is "fairly troubling" and at odds with his private comments to US officials.

At a summit with EU leaders in Portugal, Mr Putin likened the dispute over missile defense to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and said Washington was creating "threats" near its borders.

Asked about it after a speech at Texas A and M University, Mr Gates said he was unsure sure what to make of Putin's public remarks.

"Maybe democracy is taking a hold in Russia, because sometimes what their leaders say in public is not what they say in private," he said.

He says Mr Putin had reacted positively to US proposals at a meeting in Moscow earlier this month.

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Gus: see toon at the head of this line of articles... The article below states the talks between the US and Russia about a US anti-missile system in Europe have ended acrimoniously and without any sign of progress... not the "Mr Putin had reacted positively to US proposals" that Gates is trying to make us believe...

The North Korean Government is reportedly providing information that could prove that it never intended to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

The Washington Post newspaper report says the evidence undermines a key United States intelligence finding made five years ago and used in public statements by President George W Bush.

Citing unnamed US and South Korean officials, the newspaper says the North Korean Government granted US experts access to equipment and documents to make its case.

The newspaper says North Korean officials hope the US will simultaneously lift sanctions against the North Korean Government when the experts report before the end of the year on the extent of its nuclear program.

The paper says the US intelligence community's credibility has already been undercut by claims that Iraq was secretly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction - a charge proved wrong after the March 2003 invasion.

US criticises 'bellicose' Russia

The United States has criticised what it calls "bellicose rhetoric" from Russia over US plans to develop a missile shield in Europe.

Russia said it would be forced to react with military means if the US went ahead with its plan for a shield based partly in the Czech Republic.

The reaction was "designed to make Europeans nervous about participating" said a Pentagon spokesman.

A White House spokesman said dialogue with Russia would continue.

"We seek strategic cooperation on preventing missiles from rogue nations, like Iran, from threatening our friends and allies," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

He said the US and Russia should be "equal partners".

Moscow says siting the system near its borders could weaken its own defences, despite US assurances that it is designed to counter a threat from the Middle East, not from Russia.

It has previously threatened to aim its own missiles at any eventual base in Poland or the Czech Republic.

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see toon at top once more... 

Obama Appealed to Medvedev For Deal on Iran

03 March 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama suggested to President Dmitri Medvedev that the United States would back off plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe in exchange for help stopping Iran from developing long-range weapons, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Obama made the proposal in a secret letter that was hand-delivered to Medvedev three weeks ago, the newspaper reported, citing anonymous U.S. sources.

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Reuters that Obama had sent a letter on the subject to his Russian counterpart.

"We can confirm that President Obama sent a letter to President Medvedev," the senior U.S. official said. "The letter touched on a range of subjects, including missile defense and how it relates to the Iranian threat."

Russia has vigorously opposed the missile shield, which would include sites in the Czech Republic and Poland, since it was proposed by the Bush administration. The stated aim of the shield is to deter Iran from launching nuclear-tipped missiles at U.S. allies in Europe.

According to the report, Obama's letter said the United States would not need to build the missile defense system if Iran's efforts to build a nuclear weapon were halted.

Moscow has not yet responded to Obama's offer, the report said.

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Read more at the Moscow Times and see toon at top...

President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that there would be no trade-off on Iran's nuclear program and U.S. plans to set up a missile defense shield in Central Europe.

"No one sets conditions on these issues with trade-offs, especially on the Iranian problem," Medvedev said at a news conference in Madrid, where he was on a state visit. "In any case, we are working closely with our American colleagues on Iran's nuclear program."

Medvedev was responding to reporters' questions about a secret letter delivered three weeks ago from U.S. President Barack Obama.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Obama suggested in the letter that the United States would back off from plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic if Russia helped convince Iran to abandon its ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon.

But Obama said late Tuesday in Washington that the report did not "accurately characterize the letter," Reuters reported.

The U.S. State Department told The Moscow Times that the letter expressed Obama's readiness to discuss both missile defense and Iran with Russia but did not link the two.

see toon at top...