Reports say President Obama sent a secret letter to Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev with an offer to cease the development of a missile defense program in the Czech Republic and Poland if Russia would agree to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Hello I’m Charlotte Bellis and you’re watching Newsy.com.

The Kremlin has not yet disclosed the actual content of the letter, but sources are already discussing the possibility of the U.S. cutting a deal with the Russians.

FOX News discusses the Obama administration’s reasoning for offering such a deal to give up the missile defense program.

“They are looking at a lot of factors, 1) do they think it will work? and 2) the cost of the project. So they keep signaling that basically they are willing to look at other methods including strong diplomacy to address the issue.” (FOXNews)

The International Herald Tribune, cites the Russian newspaper Kommersant, also adds that Iran is the reason the U.S. would need the missile interceptor system in the first place.

"The letter states that resolution of the Iran problem would fully eliminate the need to base missile defense elements in Europe … Therefore, if Moscow and Washington enter talks with Iran with a united front, then it might be possible to forget about (the missile defense issue)." (International Herald Tribune)

MSNBC reports on the reasons why the letter was made public at this time…

“Well, it was the Russians that first leaked all this. So I think the fact that they are leaking this indicates that they want to make sure everybody knows this is on the table. They are not in a strong of a negotiating position as they were even three months ago, because they now have an economic problem because the price of oil plummeted.” (MSNBC)

The UK Telegraph praised the potential deal, saying it would be effective in dampening Iran’s nuclear plans.

“A withdrawal of Russian assistance would have serious implications for Iran. At the very least it would delay significantly its nuclear programme. [President Obama] has given an early indication that he is prepared to think laterally about the most pressing foreign policy dilemma the United States faces.” (Telegraph)

However, the New York Times points out that the tone of the letter might pose a problem.

“It’s almost saying to them, put up or shut up,” said a senior administration official. “It’s not that the Russians get to say, ‘We’ll try and therefore you have to suspend.’ It says the threat has to go away.” (The New York Times)

And finally we come back to FOX News, for a look at the region overall - and the general support for a U.S. missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland.

“…there is a sense, and I believe it is still out there, that these two European countries are a little weary of Russia. They wouldn’t mind a missile defense system because Russia has got a whole bunch of missiles pointed at them. The other problem is, Russia built the nuclear power plant that Iran has. They have no problems with the Iranians.” (FOX News)

Do you think it is a good idea to offer such a deal to Russia? What do you think will happen next?

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