Obama's Secret Letter

In a secret letter sent to Russia’s president Dmitri A. Medvedev, President Obama proposed abandoning the idea of a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would assist the United States in stopping Iran from developing long range weapons. As reported in a New York Times article on March 3, 2009, the letter was hand-delivered three weeks ago by officials. The letter stated that the United States would have no need for the interceptor system, if Iran put a stop to the idea of building nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.

President Medvedev has not yet responded to the letter. A Russian official did comment that Foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov would speak with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the subject when they meet in Geneva on Friday. President Obama and President Medvedev will be meeting in London on April 2.

This secret letter was sent in response to a letter that President Medvedev sent to President Obama shortly after he took office. He hopes to “press the reset button” on Russian-American relations.

I feel this is a good move on both parties. It shows that Russia wants a new start with the Obama presidency, and that President Obama is willing to entertain this idea. If we can work with Russia in a so-called “partnership,” I think it could be a win-win situation for both countries.