Moscow reaches out to Obama on missiles

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By Martin Sieff UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

"Why they would threaten to point missiles at European nations seems quite puzzling to me," added Mr. Gates, who was in Europe to attend a NATO meeting.

The Russian threat was the latest move in a protracted dispute over U.S. plans to base 10 interceptors in Poland and a missile guidance radar in the Czech Republic. The U.S. insists missile defenses are needed to protect Europe from Iran.

Undersecretary of State William Burns and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow earlier this week, agreed to hold the next round of security and missile-defense talks in December, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

The two also discussed "the global economic crisis and the need for coordinated action during this weekend´s summit meeting of G-20 leaders in Washington," Mr. Wood said.

Russia has been hard hit by the crisis and the accompanying plunge in oil prices. Its stock market fell more than 12 percent on Thursday.

Toby Gati, a Russia analyst and former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, said the Russians perceive a chance to improve relations.

"Whenever there's a new president, there's always a new opportunity," she said.

"The Russians were surprised by the impact of the financial crisis. They thought their hard currency reserves of half a trillion dollars were a Maginot line," she said. "They didn't realize that they can't be aggressive in foreign policy and make nice in economic affairs. Interdependence creates interdependence."

Mr. Medvedev is to attend the weekend financial summit in Washington.

Russia has called for a major overhaul of the global financial system that would give emerging economies a bigger voice in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions.

Ms. Gati said the Obama administration should make a decision on missile defense based on U.S. interests, not on how the Russians will react.

Mr. Obama said during the campaign that he supports missile defense when the technology proves reliable.