Obama Off-the-Record: I Will Have Greater Flexibility on Foreign Policy After Presidential Election

Photo Credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90

President Barack Obama, unaware that he was within microphone range at the Seoul Nuclear Summit, told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would have greater flexibility on foreign policy after the upcoming Presidential election in November.

Obama later explained that with the US in the midst of a presidential election campaign, and Russia having just completed one, the political environment is not yet stable enough for the two countries to engage in serious negotiations on arms control and missile defense.

But some analysts see this as confirmation of a more general policy shift intended by Obama, one which is expected to be more active and assertive and reach Israel and the stalled peace process.