Russia Leaves Door Open for Iran Sanctions
Medvedev Praises Obama on Missile Defense
In a sign of improving relations with the US, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today praised President Obama for his decision to abandon a planned missile defense system along the Russian frontier in Eastern Europe.
In a move likely closely related to this one, President Medvedev then expressed a sudden openness to the “crippling” economic sanctions against Iran that the US has been pushing in recent days. Medvedev’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly said the nation opposed the sanctions in recent days.
That is not to say that Medvedev thought the sanctions would work. Indeed, he noted that they “rarely lead to productive results but in some cases are inevitable.”
The White House now says there is no difference between the US and Russian positions on the sanctions, which must inevitably raise the question: how did Russia make such a radical change in such a short time, and was this the oft-rumored “trade” of the missile shield for anti-Iran sanctions?
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Nelson_2008
September 24th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Alas, Russia sells out, true to form. Just like Yeltsin sold out Yugoslavia and Putin sold out Iraq, Medvedev sells Iran down the river.
retiretheempire
September 24th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
yup. It's the old Russian double-cross. Iran is and always was just a bargaining chip, a card Russia can play in it's dealings with the U.S., to be sold in exchange for a big enough pay off. In this case, the pay off seems to be the scrapping of the missile shield. In my most cynical nightmares, Obama's current foreign policy strategy centers entirely around punishing Iran on Israel's behalf, hence the whole reason for his reversal on policy regarding the missile shield.
retiretheempire
September 24th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
yup. It's the old Russian double-cross. Iran is and always was just a bargaining chip, a card Russia can play in it's dealings with the U.S., to be sold in exchange for a big enough pay off. In this case, the pay off seems to be the scrapping of the missile shield. In my worst cynical nightmares, Obama's current foreign policy strategy centers entirely around punishing Iran on Israel's behalf, hence the whole reason for his reversal on policy regarding the missile shield.
MvGuy
September 25th, 2009 at 2:49 am
Waaay to soon to read these leaves…..also….what's Putin got to say…..or is he too busy mopping the
massage rooms……… Or the real question, who exactly is getting "PLAYED" ..??? Didn't China just announce sales of petrol to Iran..?? Thanks for the opportunity says Whoo?? Still I'm with retiretheempire on the Obama FP It's the troika Rahm AIPAC and the Neocons …..and all the phony disarmament gibberish………..Nobody is gonna give up their nukes…….