September 23, 2010 By James Kimer

Premature Celebration on Russia-Iran Missile Deal Postponement

How many times have we heard the Russian government say that the delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles would be canceled or delayed, before then again moving ahead?  We’ve lost count, and there’s not reason to think that the issue is final this time.  From Josh Rogin blogging at Foreign Policy’s The Cable:

“Let’s wait a bit before we pop open the champagne,” said David Kramer, who served as assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights during the Bush administration. He gave credit to the Obama administration for getting the Russians to renege on the S-300 sale, but pointed out that Moscow still cooperates with Iran on the Bushehr nuclear reactor, may allow Russian company Lukoil to undermine U.S. energy sanctions, and may even sign on to a multilateral criticism of U.S. and EU sanctions on Iran being discussed by Brazil, India, and China.