By MIKE ECKEL (AP) – 14 hours ago

MOSCOW — The Kremlin got exactly what it wanted when the United States scrapped plans for missile defenses on Russia's borders.

And Moscow wasted no time in trying to show, at least publicly, that it has ceded nothing in return and, in fact, intends to press for more from Washington.

Iran and its nuclear intentions loomed over Thursday's decision by the Obama administration to abandon the idea of placing a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Lurking not far under the surface were deeper issues such as the fate of Washington's staunchest allies in the former Soviet bloc and their fears of their massive eastern neighbor.

For now, Russia appears to have the upper hand — the Kremlin can crow to a domestic audience about staring down the Americans and thumbing its nose at the upstart Poles. The White House is hoping for more cooperation from Moscow on Iran and other simmering international issues, something that's far from a sure thing.

Missile defense in Eastern Europe was arguably the most serious thorn in the U.S.-Russian relationship, with Moscow repeatedly and angrily insisting that the system was pointless against an imagined Iranian threat — and was a grave threat to Russian national security.

On the day after Barack Obama won his historic election victory last year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in lieu of congratulations, threw down the gauntlet, threatening to put sophisticated short-range Iskander missiles on Poland's border if Washington didn't stop the deployment.

On the day Obama announced the decision to scrap the plan, Medvedev said that was the right move all along — a smug announcement that made no concessions and sounded like a lecture to a wayward teenager.

He took a similarly blunt tone in an interview with Swiss media that was posted on the Kremlin Web site Friday, saying: "If our partners hear any of our concerns, then we of course we will more carefully consider their concerns. But this doesn't mean primitive compromises and swaps."

"We are mature enough not to tie one decision to another," he said. "But there always is a score in politics. This is also obvious."

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who often found incendiary ways to describe the United States as president before Medvedev, praised the decision. He then promptly demanded more, such as lifting Cold War-era trade restrictions.

"I very much hope that this right and brave decision will be followed up by others, including the full cancellation of all restrictions on cooperation with Russia and high technology transfer to Russia as well as a boost to expand the (World Trade Organization) to embrace Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan," Putin told an investment forum.

Russia is the largest economy without WTO membership, and Moscow accuses Washington of being behind that.

It was unclear what behind-the-scenes talks went on between Moscow and Washington before Obama's announcement Thursday. Russian officials said there was no quid pro quo.

Medvedev foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko said the move would require the Kremlin to "attentively consider new possibilities opening up for cooperation and interaction."

And the announcement Friday that Russia would not deploy Iskander missiles near the Polish border? That had merely been a threat, not an actual deployment.

Neil MacFarlane, a Russia expert at Oxford University, said the Obama decision was made for technical reasons, not as a result of some deal with Russia.

"A specific quid pro quo? I doubt it," he said. "But was there a nod and a wink? Well, I don't know."

Where Washington is counting on Moscow for serious help is on Iran, and pressing it to stop moving toward development of nuclear weapons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will join U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and counterparts from the three other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council in New York next week for discussions on Iran.

But there's no indication that Russia — a major trading partner with Iran — is yet willing to support harsher U.S. measures against Tehran. Prikhodko gave no hint whether Moscow could edge closer to the U.S. position, and Lavrov made the same signal in a speech given just hours before Obama's announcement.

"There is a real chance to engage in talks which could result in an agreement allowing us to regain confidence in exclusively peaceful character of the Iranian nuclear program," Lavrov said. "It would be a grave mistake to ruin that chance by demanding a quick introduction of sanctions."

While Moscow may be content, countries like Poland and the Czech Republic fear Obama's decision has only darkened the shadow that Russia has long cast over them.

On Friday, in the same Polish tabloid whose headline screamed "Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back," President Lech Kaczynski wrote that Poland had been left in a dangerous "gray zone."

That fear may be even more acute in Ukraine and Georgia. Both aspire for NATO membership, yet Moscow considers both to be part of its historic sphere of influence.

"Russia will probably also get the right to lobby for not letting Ukraine and Georgia join NATO for the near future," said Viktor Chumak, a foreign policy expert with the International Center for Policy Studies in Kiev. "We are losing the possibility to enter NATO in the immediate future."

Georgia, in particular, has staked its future on the U.S. countering Russia's dominance in the strategic South Caucasus. Many had hoped the U.S. would have done more to help Georgia in its war last year with Russia, which resulted in the loss of the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Temuri Yakobashvili, the Georgian government minister in charge of efforts to regain control of the regions, said Washington has given in to Russia — during the war and now with missile defense — and warned that Moscow will now seek even more concessions.

"I don't think that they will be satisfied with only this," he told The Associated Press.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — Mike Eckel has reported on Russia and the former Soviet Union since 1998.

Associated Press writers Raphael G. Satter in London, Sergei Venyavsky in Sochi, Russia, Maria Danilova in Kiev, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili in Tbilisi contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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