And yesterday we had Nato chief calls for closer ties with Russia

The United States is dropping plans for a controversial missile defense shield and replacing it with a “new missile defense architecture in Europe,” President Obama said Thursday.

The new system “will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defenses against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defense program” proposed by former President George W. Bush, Obama said.

Obama did not go into details about the new plan but said it had received the unanimous support of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Obama said the change of gears was based on an “updated intelligence assessment” about Iran’s ability to hit Europe with missiles.

The Islamic republic’s “short- and medium-range” missiles pose the most current threat, he said, and “this new ballistic missile defense will best address” that threat.

Gates is holding a briefing Thursday at the Pentagon to explain “why this new idea is better,” a senior administration official said. The official was not authorized to speak on the record.