Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russia is hardening its opposition to U.S. plans for a missile-defense system in eastern Europe, possibly to size up the incoming administration of President- elect Barack Obama, a State Department official said.

“They’re looking carefully at the position of the new team” on missile defense and other issues, said John Rood, acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, who held talks with Russian officials in Moscow on Dec. 15. “My assessment is that the Russians intend to test the mettle of a new administration and the new president.”

The talks this week were aimed at closing gaps between the two sides on security issues including the disputed missile- defense system and a replacement for a nuclear arms treaty. The Bush administration last month offered wider access for Russian monitors at planned locations in Poland and the Czech Republic as reassurance that the system isn’t aimed at Russia.

“In some ways, their position is less flexible than it was before,” Rood told reporters in Washington today. “It leads me to the conclusion that they would like to determine the posture of the new administration.”

Obama said during the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi, that he generally supports continuing missile defense, contingent on testing that proves its effectiveness.

NATO View

Foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a joint statement earlier this month that they see such a defense mechanism as part of a broader plan to counter potential missile threats.

The Russian government has long opposed the missile-defense system, which the U.S. says is intended to protect against potential attacks from nations such as Iran or North Korea. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last month said he would place short-range Iskander missiles and a radio-jamming installation near Poland to “neutralize” the planned system.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters after the talks with Rood this week that the two sides still had “serious differences” on the U.S. system. He also said the U.S. and Russia have “more than enough time” to negotiate an agreement to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as Start, which expires in December 2009.

Rood said he has met with members of Obama’s transition team, including prior to the Moscow trip, and that he plans to brief them on those talks.

Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Obama transition, declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 17, 2008 15:08 EST