Russia has made so many noises in recent weeks about its optimism about US President Barack Obama’s new administration and the positive turns its holds for US-Russia relations that one was almost inclined to believe today’s announcement about Russia’s ‘olive branch’ to the US. Russia, went the story, was to halt its initial plan to retaliate against the proposed US missile defense shield by stationing its own missiles near Europe’s border. A NATO spokesperson cautiously said that such a move would be ‘a very positive step’. Indeed it would.
But don’t believe it just yet… According to the Financial Times:
a high-ranking source in the defence ministry later dismissed the report as “rubbish”.
…in direct contradiction to the official quoted by the Telegraph, who said that:
“The implementation of these plans has been halted in connection with the fact that the new US administration is not rushing through plans to deploy” elements of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe.
Your guess is as good as mine…