Obama writes Russia president about Iran, missiles: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has offered to back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Russia helps stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Obama offered the deal in a letter hand-delivered to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in Moscow last month by top administration officials, the newspaper reported, citing U.S. officials it did not identify.
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Reuters that Obama had sent a letter on the subject to his Russian counterpart.
"We can confirm that President Obama sent a letter to President Medvedev," the senior U.S. official said.
"The letter touched on a range of subjects, including missile defense and how it relates to the Iranian threat."
Russia vehemently opposes the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The system was proposed by the administration of former President George W. Bush.
Moscow has not yet responded to Obama's offer, the report said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.
William Burns, the State Department's political director and a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, went to Moscow in February to help prepare for that meeting and to broach ideas to improve ties.
Burns indicated compromises on missile defense, telling Russian officials the Obama administration was willing to slow plans for a shield in Eastern Europe if Russia agreed to help stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Vice President Joe Biden has signaled the Obama administration's wish to change tack with Russia, telling a security conference in Germany that it was time to hit the "reset" button with Moscow.
(Reporting by Caren Bohan and JoAnne Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)
