Azerbaijan, Baku, March 3 / Trend , E.Tariverdiyeva /
U.S. will stop to deploy the third positional region in Europe instead of Russia's assistance in negotiations with Iran.
"I think that Russia can absolutely help with negotiations between Iran and the West on Iran's nuclear program," American Military Expert Viktoria Samson told Trend .
U.S. President Barack Obaama sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Dmitriy Medvedev. The letter says that U.S. is prepared to refuse to deploy Missile Defense System (MDS) elements in Europe instead Russia's assistance in solving the Iranian nuclear problem, New York Times newspaper reported on March 2.
The newspaper reports that the Russian leader received a confidential letter from a special courier three weeks ago. "We can confirm that President Obama has sent a letter to President Medvedev," senior U.S. official told Reuters agency.
The letter concerns some issues, including missile defense and its connection with the Iranian threat, the senior official said. Moscow has not yet reacted to Obama's proposal, the agency reported.
Russia can favor to begin negotiations between U.S. and Iran instead of stopping MDS project, experts believe. President Obama's readiness to stop deploying the third positional region in Europe can play a positive role in this issue.
"Cooperation between the U.S., Russia and Europe on common missile defense is possible, welcome, and very likely," Czech Political Scientist Roman Joch said. "We are glad that Russia does not reject that cooperation, anymore."
The relations between the U.S and Iran were broken in 1980. There were no high level talks between the sides since that time. The relations between two countries are being complicated because of development of Iran's nuclear program. U.S doubts in peaceful intentions of the program. But Iran insists on peaceful character of the program's development.
Russia's mediation in the U.S-Iranian relations will depend on relations between the U.S and Russia, Expert of Center for Defense information Samson said.
Russia's mediation will depend on whether the U.S. will continue deploying the anti-missile defense system in Europe, whether Russia will refuse from placing of Iskander in Kaliningrad and whether Moscow and Washington will be able to reach mutual agreement on renewal talks on START-2 (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), she wrote to Trend in an email.
The U.S intends to place radar in Czechia and ten rocket-interceptors in Poland by 2010 under pretence of protection from Iran's missile threat. Russia bewares of these systems will harm its security. Russia will place Iskander rocket complexes in Kaliningrad, as well as apply radio electronic suppression of Anti Missile Defence elements as a reply to placing of the U.S Anti Missile Defence elements in Europe, the Russian Federation's President Dmitry Medvedev said early in November. However, after Barack Obama's coming to power in U.S., everybody speaks about cancelling or postponing deploying the third positional region in Europe.
However, Iranian Expert Hasan Beheshtipour is sure that Tehran does not need Russia's mediation.
"Tehran and Washington will not need any mediator if Iran regards cooperation with the U.S as profitable, if conditions are created for this cooperation, if the Obama Administration expresses its willingness to cooperate with Iran in deed, not by words," Beheshtipour told Trend in a telephone conversation.
Future of the U.S anti-missile defense in Europe will depend on new Minister of Finance in the Obama Administration, Yannis Stivachtis U.S expert on security said.
The decision to establish the anti-missile defense system in Europe has been from the very beginning one of the greatest issue of contention between U.S. and Russia, he said. "If the Obama Administration wishes to ameliorate this situation, then, a range of possibilities exist for U.S.-Russian collaboration," the Virginia (U.S.) University International Relations Department Director Stivachtis, wrote to Trend in an email.
The cooperative security policies may help to address the security concerns of all parties involved -Russia, U.S. and the countries where the anti-missile defense system is to be established.
However, the Czech political scientist said that any suggestions of its rejection by President Obama are premature.
It is possible indeed that the process of missile defense build-up will be slowed-down under President Obama, due to financial constraints imposed on the U.S. budget by the current financial crisis, he said.
"If, however, President Obama decides to shut down missile defense completely - which I do not believe will happen - then that decision would be his major geo-political blunder; which may become, one day, a strategic blunder of astronomic proportions," the Civic Institute in Prague Executive Director Joch wrote to Trend in an email.
However, the cooperation between Russia and U.S. in the missile defense causes doubt of Russian observers.
Huge resources had already invested to deploy this defense system, said Russian military expert Konstantin Sivkov. "It may be delayed, but it will be deployed there anyway," Academy of Geopolitical Problems First Vice-President Sivkov told Trend .
Even without nuclear weapons, but the radar system will surely be deployed there, he said.
The cooperation with Russia is impossible, as any military system controlled by a single system that is in this case in the U.S., but not in Russia. This cooperation is unacceptable for Russia.
R. Agayev (Moscow) and D. Ibrahimova (Baku) contributed in the article.
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