Medvedev Spoke About His Talk With Obama on Missile Defense

Former Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev thinks that in the case of the European missile defense, there are two finales.

“In any case, this dialogue should reach a conclusion, which will be favorable if we come to feel that our interests are being respected, and you know what we believe to be respect for our interests: a guarantee that this defense is not aimed against the Russian Federation,” said Medvedev in Seoul.

He said that he had already spoken about the other finale in November last year. “But I would not like to see such a conclusion, even though it is not something that can occur in the short term,” said the former Russian president. “The final decision will be taken in the second half of this decade.”

“But I can say with absolute certainty that such an outcome would not benefit anyone, because it would mean an arms race, which is a costly solution for all. Second, this decision, unfortunately, if it comes to it, will be inevitable, but we would like to prevent it,” he said.

He also commented on his meeting yesterday with U.S. President Barack Obama, some part of which was leaked to the press, even though it was behind closed doors.

“There are no secrets here, and there’s nothing surprising that a whole bunch of questions is difficult to solve in a particular political situation. There’s a better and a worse time to deal with any problem,” said Medvedev.

“Obviously, the best time is when the political situation is stable, irrespective of specific policies, but just the overall construction is clear. In fact, that is what we were talking about. There is nothing surprising about this and we never tried to hide anything. President Obama could have said it publicly or in a one-to-one conversation,” said Medvedev.

Medvedev has called his dialogue with Obama “exemplary.” “Most importantly, it is essential for participants in a dialogue to hear each other. That is what Barack Obama and I have learned to do, and in this sense he has been a very comfortable conversation partner,” said Medvedev.

Medvedev also acknowledged that there is a difference between the talks that the U.S. had done before and the one that he is having now with President Obama. “This does not mean that President Obama has held any special position in this regard. On the contrary, President Obama is a typical President of the United States. His position has always been absolutely pro-American.” According to Medvedev, when their positions diverged, everything was done in a respectful way and with explanations of reasons.

“I told him: ‘You know, Barack, I can do this but not that.’ And he told me the same: ‘That’s what I can do now, but here I will be tortured, for example, by Congress, and this decision will be very difficult to make.’ This is normal awareness of the political reality. This is exactly how a trust-based and friendly dialogue should be built…” said Medvedev.

Referring to the Interfax, he supports the intention of the American side to continue the dialogue on European missile defense.

Obama and Medvedev have discussed missile defense issues during the Seoul summit. The U.S. media was able to record a part of their private conversation. According to the media, the U.S. president promised Medvedev that he’ll show more flexibility on the missile defense question in the case of his re-election. Obama has also asked Russian president Vladimir Putin not to force the solving of this problem.

The main obstacle in this question between the two states is that the U.S. is ready to give Moscow written guarantees that the missile defense system stationed in Europe is not aimed against Russia. However, these are not legal responsibilities, and Russia is looking for law-binding guarantees.

As a reminder, on Nov. 23, 2011, Dmitry Medvedev delivered a TV announcement that talked about the measures Russia had taken in response to the U.S. missile defense system stationed in Europe. In the case of things going to an unfavorable scenario, the Russian head of state did not exclude an option of withdrawal from the START treaty. According to Medvedev, despite the complex situation in the missile defense negotiations, Russia and the U.S. still have a chance to find a compromise.