US, Russia G8 missile talks hit stone wall
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2011, Friday
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US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev emerged from private talks yesterday unable to show progress on the contentious issue of missile defense.
This underscores an enduring mistrust underlying the US-Russia relationship despite gradual thawing. Obama's top Russia adviser Mike McFaul put the problem plainly after the meeting with the Russians: "They don't believe us."
At issue is Washington's plan to site missile interceptors in Central and Eastern Europe in phases through 2020. Despite repeated assurances, Russia hasn't let go of the fear that the US would end up threatening Russia's own missile arsenal, something US officials say won't happen.
Obama and Medvedev spoke on the sidelines of a two-day summit of industrialized nations here focused in part on the Middle East and North Africa.
Security needs
Obama said after the 90-minute meeting with Medvedev that they'd committed to working together on missile defense to find an approach that is "consistent with the security needs of both countries, that maintains the strategic balance, and deals with potential threats that we both share."
Medvedev, however, suggested the problem wouldn't be solved anytime soon. "I have told my counterpart, Barack Obama, that this issue will be finally solved in the future, like, for example, in the year 2020, but we, at present, might lay the foundation for other politicians' activities," Medvedev said. "And this would be a sound foundation for cooperation between our two countries in the future."
Medvedev has warned that failure to cooperate with Moscow on the missile shield could spark a new arms race.
Their meeting came in the context of an ongoing attempt to shore up relations between the US and Russia, once icy but now significantly warming - to the point that Obama and Medvedev had a memorable bonding day, complete with a burger run, when the Russian president visited the US less than a year ago.
But deep tensions remain and the leaders' body language yesterday seemed to show it. Obama's stern expression was in contrast to his relaxed and affable demeanor during earlier stops on his four-country Europe tour. Medvedev also appeared cool, and leaned away from Obama as he talked.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes described the relationship as warm and free-flowing, saying they even "joke around a lot."
McFaul said it was precisely because of their much cultivated relationship that Medvedev and Obama were talking seriously about issues that have stymied their countries for decades.
"This is a very hard issue," McFaul said. "There's a lot of old thinking in both of our governments, frankly. This is a new challenge to think about how to do this cooperatively."
This underscores an enduring mistrust underlying the US-Russia relationship despite gradual thawing. Obama's top Russia adviser Mike McFaul put the problem plainly after the meeting with the Russians: "They don't believe us."
At issue is Washington's plan to site missile interceptors in Central and Eastern Europe in phases through 2020. Despite repeated assurances, Russia hasn't let go of the fear that the US would end up threatening Russia's own missile arsenal, something US officials say won't happen.
Obama and Medvedev spoke on the sidelines of a two-day summit of industrialized nations here focused in part on the Middle East and North Africa.
Security needs
Obama said after the 90-minute meeting with Medvedev that they'd committed to working together on missile defense to find an approach that is "consistent with the security needs of both countries, that maintains the strategic balance, and deals with potential threats that we both share."
Medvedev, however, suggested the problem wouldn't be solved anytime soon. "I have told my counterpart, Barack Obama, that this issue will be finally solved in the future, like, for example, in the year 2020, but we, at present, might lay the foundation for other politicians' activities," Medvedev said. "And this would be a sound foundation for cooperation between our two countries in the future."
Medvedev has warned that failure to cooperate with Moscow on the missile shield could spark a new arms race.
Their meeting came in the context of an ongoing attempt to shore up relations between the US and Russia, once icy but now significantly warming - to the point that Obama and Medvedev had a memorable bonding day, complete with a burger run, when the Russian president visited the US less than a year ago.
But deep tensions remain and the leaders' body language yesterday seemed to show it. Obama's stern expression was in contrast to his relaxed and affable demeanor during earlier stops on his four-country Europe tour. Medvedev also appeared cool, and leaned away from Obama as he talked.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes described the relationship as warm and free-flowing, saying they even "joke around a lot."
McFaul said it was precisely because of their much cultivated relationship that Medvedev and Obama were talking seriously about issues that have stymied their countries for decades.
"This is a very hard issue," McFaul said. "There's a lot of old thinking in both of our governments, frankly. This is a new challenge to think about how to do this cooperatively."
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