Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed as "positive" the US decision to shelve controversial missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. <br/> <br/>Mr Medvedev said there were now "good conditions" for US-Russia talks on tackling missile proliferation. <br/> <br/>US President Barack Obama had earlier announced there would be a shift in US missile defence strategy, following a review of the threat posed by Iran. <br/> <br/>However, US Republicans have called the move "short-sighted" and "harmful". Some said it was a concession to Moscow with nothing in return. <br/> <br/>Russia had long objected to plans pursued by the administration of former-President George W Bush to base a missile interceptor system close to its borders, calling it a threat to its security. <br/> <br/>In an address on Russian television, Mr Medvedev said Mr Obama was "correcting" the US approach to missile defence. <br/> <br/>Mr Medvedev said that he and Mr Obama had in earlier meetings expressed the need to work together to assess the risks of missile proliferation.<br/> <br/>Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the decision to overhaul plans for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic is based on new intelligence and will result in better protection for American armed forces and allies in Europe. <br/> <br/>Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Secretary Gates said the U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran has been slower to develop its intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities than previously thought. <br/> <br/>He says this is one reason he recommended scrapping plans to build a sophisticated radar system in the Czech Republic and installing ground-based interceptors in Poland. Gates said shorter range Iranian missiles are a more urgent concern. <br/> <br/>Secretary Gates said the new plan will allow flexibility and put in place a defense system more quickly than the previous proposal. Russia strongly objected to the original plan, calling it a threat to its security. <br/> <br/>Secretary Gates said that while the missile shield was never a threat to Russia, the new configuration will likely allay some of Moscow's concerns.<br/>