According to one high-profile Russian analyst, now that Obama is free of domestic political wrangling, he will show more flexibility on the NATO European missile defense issue. At the same time, however, he will expect concessions from Moscow. The question remains whether President Putin will accept more conditions in the already damaged reset.

"Obama will keep his word and will press for flexibility on the part of Moscow, but Moscow isn't in a very flexible mood now," Gleb Pavlovsky told journalists during an election reception hosted by the US Ambassador to Russia on Tuesday.
There will be some friction. He promised flexibility, not unilateral concessions, he added.

Asked whether he expected Obama to give Russia legal guarantees that the missile defense system would not upset the nuclear balance, Pavlovsky said: "With diplomatic subterfuges, one can do anything one wants. It's a matter of giving one thing the name of another."