RedSea Posted January 29, 2009 Russia 'drops missile plans due to Obama change to US attitude' News {Moscow-Russia}28-01-09"Russia has dropped plans to install missiles near Poland after the Obama administration signaled a change in US attitude to the region, a Moscow military official has reportedly said. The official suggested that Mr Obama's White House had made clear it would not priorities executing the Bush administration's plan to install a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. An unnamed official in the Russian military's general staff said: "The implementation of these plans has been halted in connection with the fact that the new US administration is not rushing through plans to deploy" elements of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe, according to the Interfax news agency. Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, had warned that the US shield - which the Bush White House said was necessary to defend against potential attacks from the Middle East - would be interpreted by Moscow as a direct provocation. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, announced in November that in response, Moscow would place short-range Iskander missiles in the western enclave of Kaliningrad. Washington had previously obtained agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic for the installation of the shield, which it said would plug a gap in its global missile defence system. It said the shield was necessary to guard against long-range missiles that Iran was working to develop. The proposed system had received Nato-wide backing. Plans for the system were accelerated after the conflict between Russia and Georgia last year. source: widhwidhonline. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
