Obama chats with Medvedev on phone

November 09, 2008|Associated Press

CHICAGO - President-elect Obama spoke to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday as he made another round of phone calls with counterparts in other nations.

A Kremlin statement said Obama and Medvedev "expressed the determination to create constructive and positive interaction for the good of global stability and development" and agreed that their countries had a responsibility to address "serious problems of a global nature."

Obama's office did not issue a statement describing the call.

A Bush administration plan for setting up a missile shield close to Russia's borders has served as another dent in the Kremlin's battered relationship with the United States.

On Wednesday, Medvedev threatened to move short-range missiles to Russia's borders with NATO allies even as the US offered new proposals on nuclear arms reductions as well as missile defense. Allowing Russian observers at planned missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic were among them, US officials said.

During the presidential campaign, Obama expressed skepticism about the system, saying that it would require much more vigorous testing to ensure it would work and justify the billions of dollars it would cost.

Obama foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said yesterday that Obama had "a good conversation" with Polish President Lech Kaczynski about the American-Polish alliance but that Obama had made no commitment on the missile shield plan.