PRESIDENT DMITRI Medvedev of Russia has stolen some headlines from the almost universal welcome for Barack Obama's election with his announcement that short-range Iskander missiles and radioelectronic jamming machines are to be positioned in Kaliningrad. This, he says, is intended to protect Russia from the perceived threat of a proposed United States missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
His blunt warning that the new US administration must "make a choice in favour of a full-fledged relationship with Russia" came in his first presidential state of the nation address since he succeeded Vladimir Putin. It can be read as the opening shot in a new cold war with the West or more convincingly as a clear statement that Russian interests should not be overlooked in any policy reappraisal following Mr Obama's victory. The Democrats are much less committed to missile defence, believing it is technically unproven and prohibitively expensive.
This is a timely reminder of the difficult choices facing the new president. Should he continue with this anti- missile programme, conceived by the Bush administration as protection against missile attacks from rogue states like Iran rather than directed against Russia? Could the programme become part of a grand bargain with Russia or Iran in which its continuation would depend on whether alternative security agreements can be reached?
These questions are tied in with changing US attitudes to Nato enlargement in Europe. The Bush administration has pressed for Ukraine and Georgia to be brought rapidly into the alliance, which has been resisted by France, Germany and other Nato members because they say it provokes Russia unnecessarily. The Bush administration actively cultivated close relations with central and eastern European governments which favour rapid Nato enlargement; they have not been so enthusiastic about the Democratic victory as other Europeans. There are similar tensions over how the US and the European Union should respond to Russia's intervention in Georgia, especially on whether the EU should as a result reopen or delay negotiations on a comprehensive agreement with Moscow.
Mr Obama cannot be seen to be put on the defensive by the Russian announcement, but neither will he want to adopt too hostile a position before he takes up office. This political transition in Washington promises to be much more active and substantive than previous ones.