Cold greeting from Russia for Obama
Friday, November 7, 2008 at 3:11 am
Aggressive Russia deploys nuclear capable tipped missiles at NATO’s borders for the first time since the Cold War. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Russia was sending out the “wrong signal” after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he would deploy missiles in Russia’s Baltic Sea territory, in response to US missile defence plans in eastern Europe.
Medvedev made the comments during his first state of the nation address on Wednesday. The short-range Iskander missiles will be deployed to the Kaliningrad region which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, Medvedev said.
He did not say how many missiles will be deployed or whether they will be fitted with nuclear warheads. Russia will deploy equipment to electronically hamper the operation of prospective US missile defence facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Steinmeier said such remarks sent the “wrong signal at the wrong time”. Steinmeier urged the new US administration of president-elect Barack Obama to seek “dialogue” with Russia over the missile defence plans and expressed hope that Obama and his team would approach Russia with an open mind, marking a “new beginning” for bilateral relations. He hoped the same attitude would be reciprocated in Moscow, he said.
During his address, Medvedev said hoped the next US administration would act to improve relations. But he suggested it was up to the US – not the Kremlin – to seek to improve relations.
In a separate telegram, he congratulated Obama on his election victory and said he was hoping for “constructive dialogue” with the incoming US president.
Russian-US relations have been increasingly tense and were driven to a post-Cold War low by Moscow’s August war with US-ally Georgia.
(Agencies)
( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)
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