Kremlin Strategy On Obama

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Kremlin Opts For Charm Over Strong Arm On
Missile Defence -- The Guardian

Medvedev drops threats after talking to Obama
President-elect yet to reveal stance on shield

Russia switched deftly from threats to charm yesterday in an effort to exploit indications that Barack Obama could be persuaded to scrap Bush administration plans to deploy a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Speaking after meeting the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was expecting a more flexible approach from the US once Obama took office.

"We have paid attention to the positions that Barack Obama has published on his site. They inspire hope that we can examine these questions in a more constructive way," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

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My Comment: They must have had a good talk on the phone yesterday.