US President Barack Obama is considering scrapping the missile shield project Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The US administration has sent signals to Russia that it would consider abandoning its anti-missile shield project in Central Europe in return for Moscow’s support in pressuring Iran to end its nuclear program. The offer was reportedly included in what the media have called US President Barack Obama’s “secret letter” to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev.

In response to media reports, the Obama administration explained that the contents of the letter had been inaccurately described. No secrecy was involved and the missile shield was mentioned among several other topics during a regular exchange of correspondence between the US and Russian presidents, after the latter congratulated Obama on his inauguration, American authorities claimed.

However, the fact that the Washington is discussing the shield with the Russians could, in and of itself, be a sign that the missile defense plans will be scrapped.

“If successful, putting something on the table that doesn’t exist and might not ever exist would be a perfect play by Obama,” said Bohdan Szklarski, an expert on American issues. He pointed out that the shield project is still at a preliminary stage and nobody is sure if it will work or how much it will finally cost.

On the other hand, he underscored that Russia’s influence on Iran shouldn’t be overestimated. The development of Iran’s nuclear program would likely be possible even without Russian support.

Washington sees Russia as a crucial element in solving its problems with Iran, which, after all, is the reason the Bush administration wanted to site the missile shield in Central Europe in the first place. Moscow has consistently taken umbrage to the idea of US interceptor missiles being located on the territory of its former satellites, and the new US administration doesn’t consider the undoubtedly costly shield a priority, especially given the country’s current economic situation.

“What is sad about all this from the Polish perspective is that, first – if this offer really took place – we learned about it from the media. And second, that the US and Russia would talk over our heads,” said Szkarski.

However, he saw a net profit in Poland’s involvement in the shield project. “If this was a tool for upgrading the quality of our defense system and acquiring investments in the army, then the government achieved its goal,” he concluded.