US to slow Europe missile plan if Russia reviews Iran policy

September 30th, 2009 Gibbs says Iran tests were 'provocative'WASHINGTON — The U.S. says Iran's recent missile tests were clearly preplanned, but intended to provoke the West.

September 18th, 2009 NATO proposes link with Russia's missile defenseBRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged the Western alliance and Russia to consider linking their defensive missile systems. He says NATO and Russia have a shared interest in combatting the proliferation of intercontinental ballistic missile technology in other countries.

September 17th, 2009 Russian FM says no new sanctions on IranMOSCOW — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow firmly opposes any new sanctions against Iran. Sergey Lavrov says new tougher sanctions would ruin hopes for solving the Iranian nuclear program through talks.

September 17th, 2009 Gates: US intelligence caused change in plansWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the decision to abandon the Bush administration's plans for a land-based missile defense system in Eastern Europe came about because of a change in the U.S. perception of the threat posed by Iran.

July 6th, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama has said that the proposed deployment of a missile shield in Europe was intended to counter Iran and Russia should not worry about it. In an interview with Novaya Gazeta newspaper Monday, Obama said that Washington was seeking to create a missile shield in Europe to protect the US and Europe from Iranian ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.

June 23rd, 2009 US: missile spat with Russia will be worked outWASHINGTON — A State Department official expressed confidence Tuesday that Russian objections to any U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe will not impede arms reduction talks.

May 1st, 2009 Obama adviser backs off Bush missile defense lineWASHINGTON — A senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama says that Russia has some reasonable concerns about U.S.

April 28th, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama, in his first 100 days in office, has demonstrated flexibility in foreign policy and a willingness to use dialogue rather than confrontation, a senior Russian senator said Tuesday. Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, said the new US administration was not rushing to integrate the ex-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO or to deploy its controversial missile defence shield in Central Europe.

April 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - There are no obstacles to the delivery of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Tehran, Iran's deputy foreign minister has said. 'There are no problems with this (S-300) contract,' Mehdi Safari said Wednesday at the end of his visit to Moscow.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama Wednesday admitted that there were still differences between the two nations over the issue of US-proposed missile shield in Central Europe. 'While acknowledging that differences remain over the purposes of deployment of missile defence assets in Europe, we discussed new possibilities for mutual international cooperation in the field of missile defence,' the two leaders said in a joint statement after their meeting in London.

March 20th, 2009 MOSCOW - There is scope for Russia and the US to reach an agreement on missile defence, the Russian foreign ministry said Thursday. 'In theory, we have every opportunity to agree on the missile defence issue,' Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

March 7th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Russia could join a controversial US plan to deploy missile-defence systems in Europe which has provoked outrage in Moscow, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday just hours before a meeting with her Russian counterpart. 'We believe that Russia and the US have the opportunity to cooperate on missile defence - on joint research, joint development, and even eventually, assuming we can reach such an agreement, joint deployment,' Clinton said after talks with European Union (EU) officials in Brussels.

February 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia has said it will not change its policy towards Iran under pressure from Europe and the US, IRNA reported Tuesday. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin said: 'Despite some countries which demanded for a change in Russia's policy on Iran, Russian officials see no reason for doing so.' The Russian leader was referring to the recent Munich Security Conference in Germany where some European leaders urged Russia to change its stand on Iran, which they believe is trying to make a nuclear weapon.

February 6th, 2009 MUNICH - The US will continue to work on a planned missile defence system in central Europe, but it will consult Russia, Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday. 'We will continue to develop missile defences to counter a growing Iranian capability, provided the technology is proven to work and cost effective,' Biden said at the 45th Munich Security Conference, adding: 'We will do so in consultation with our NATO allies and Russia.' Russia has consistently opposed the missile shield as a threat to its national security and officials have repeatedly expressed the hope that President Barack Obama would not follow through with his predecessor's missile defence plans.

January 27th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia has decided to suspend its plan to deploy Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad as the new US administration has indicated it would not speed up its missile shield plans in Europe, Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. 'These plans have been suspended because the new US administration is not pushing ahead with the plans to deploy the third phase of the US missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic,' a Russian General Staff official was quoted as saying.