Russia Says Obama Letter Has Nothing Concrete

The New York Times reported that in the letter Obama had offered to back off deploying a new missile system in Eastern Europe.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has received a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama, Medvedev's spokeswoman said on Tuesday after being asked about a report in the New York Times.

"We have received this letter. It was in fact a reply to a letter from Medvedev sent to Obama after his appointment. The letter contained an assessment of the situation, but there were no concrete proposals about any mutually binding decisions," Natalya Timakova told reporters during a visit by Medvedev to Spain.

The New York Times reported that in the letter Obama had offered to back off deploying a new missile system in Eastern Europe if Russia helps to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. Moscow has not yet responded to the letter, according to the paper.

Russia 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.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.