President Obama with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Photo: wiki commons.

“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him [Vladimir Putin] to give me space” President Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over the weekend in what he thought was a private conversation.

The discussion between the two leaders became public information when a Russian reporter recorded the conversation and passed it on to television pool reporters covering the joint press conference between Obama and Medvedev at a nuclear security meeting in South Korea.

“This is my last election,” said Obama in audio that was picked up via a reporter’s microphone. “After my election I have more flexibility.”

Now Mitt Romney has weighed in, calling the President’s comments “an alarming and troubling development”

“This is no time for our president to be pulling his punches with the American people – and not telling us what he’s intending to do with regards to our missile defense system, with regards to our military might and with regards to our commitment to Israel and with regard to our absolute conviction that Iran must have a nuclear weapon,” Romney said in a statement.

The United States, in partnership with its NATO allies is planning to deploy a missile defense system in Europe, meant to deter an attack from Iran, according to Washington.  Russia maintains the system could serve as an active defense against its nuclear arsenal and wanted to run the missile shield jointly, a proposal which the U.S. rejected.  Washington has said it will move ahead with plans to implement the system regardless of Moscow’s position on the issue.