Obama, Medvedev OK preliminary arms deal

[jimmy olsen]

Could the Russians even maintain more than 1500 warheads in good condition? If they can't, it's like making a concession for nothing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31757474/ns/world_news-europe/

Obama, Medvedev OK preliminary arms deal
Pact would point nuclear arsenals to lowest levels of any previous treaty

msnbc.com news services
updated 12 minutes ago

MOSCOW - President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are countering "a sense of drift" in relations between their nations with preliminary agreement Monday to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles to as few as 1,500 warheads each.

"We must lead by example, and that's what we are doing here today," Obama said as he and his Russian host pointed their arsenals toward the lowest levels of any U.S.-Russia arms control agreement.

"We resolve to reset U.S.-Russian relations so that we can cooperate more effectively in areas of common interest," Obama said.

The document signed by the two leaders at a Moscow summit, Obama's first in Russia, is meant as a guide for negotiators as the nations work toward a replacement pact for the START arms control agreement that expires in December.

The joint understanding completed by Obama and Medvedev, signed after about three hours of talks at the Kremlin, also commits the updated treaty to lower longer-range missiles for delivering nuclear bombs to between 500 and 1,100. The limit for warheads would be no more than 1,675 each.

Medvedev called it a "reasonable compromise."

Estimates of current nuclear stockpiles vary but the U.S.-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists estimated that at the start of 2009 the United States had around 2,200 operationally deployed nuclear warheads and Russia around 2,790.

'Effective verification measures'
A White House statement said the new treaty "will include effective verification measures" and Obama said definitively the new treaty would be completed by the end of the year.

"The new agreement will enhance the security of both the U.S. and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces," the statement said.

In the press conference, Obama also said he wanted to host a summit on global nuclear security next year.

The two leaders appeared together at a news conference in a gilded and columned Kremlin hall, where they and other officials from both countries signed and exchanged documents with great flourish and much handshaking.

Among the deals meant to sweeten Obama's two days of talks here and show progress toward resetting badly damaged U.S.-Russian relations was permission from Moscow for the United States to transport arms across its land and airspace into Afghanistan for the war there. The White House says the deal will save the U.S. $133 million a year, by waiving transit fees and shortening flying time.

They outlined other ways to work together to help stabilize Afghanistan, including increasing assistance to the Afghan army and police and training counternarcotics personnel. A joint statement said the United States and Russia welcomed increased international support for upcoming Afghan elections and they were prepared to help Afghanistan and Pakistan work together against the "common threats of terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking."

Among other side agreements was the resumption of military cooperation, suspended after Russia invaded neighboring Georgia last August and sent relations into a nosedive.

The White House announced that the two nations plan 20 exchanges and meetings this year. For example, Russian military cadets will come to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The two countries also plan a joint exercise concerning responses to possible plane hijackings.

They also promised fresh cooperation on public health issues and revived a joint commission to try to account for missing service members of both countries dating back to World War II. The commission was first created by the first President Bush and President Boris Yeltsin in the early 1990s, but the Russians later downgraded their participation. The United States hopes that the Russians will now open some of their more sensitive archives to U.S. researchers seeking details about missing American servicemen.

Huge test for Obama
Obama needs Russia's help chiefly in pressuring Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, but also in tackling terrorism, global warming and the economy. But with relations frayed with Moscow's war with Georgia last year and U.S. missile defense plans in eastern Europe, Obama's desire to reset relations is a huge test of his diplomatic skills.

"The United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences," Obama said as he and Medvedev first sat down in an ornate Kremlin room.

His host launched the high-stakes summit with similar good will.

"We'll have a full-fledged discussion of our relations between our two countries, closing some of the pages of the past and opening some of the pages of the future," Medvedev said, through a translator.

Missile defense still a thorny issue
Yet, the two sides remain stalemated over the U.S. pursuit of a missile-defense system in Europe, pushed hard by Bush and under review by Obama.

The United States contends the program is designed to protect U.S. allies in Europe from a potential nuclear attack by Iran. But the Russians see it as a first step toward a system that could weaken their offensive nuclear strike potential.

On Monday, Obama said he expected to complete a review of the plan by the end of the summer and that once the review is finished he would provide the Russian government with his assessment of how to resolve differences over the project.

Obama said he expected that assessment to lead to extensive negotiations.

The summit starts a weeklong trip for Obama that also features G-8 meetings and a visit with the pope in Italy, and a speech in Ghana.

After Obama landed in Moscow under drizzly gray skies, he introduced his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters to the Russian officials waiting to greet them on the tarmac. The entourage then headed to a wreath-laying ceremony at Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Russians skeptical of Obama
Having enjoyed adoring crowds in other parts of Europe, Obama will face a far more skeptical Russian population.

Just 15 percent of Russians say the United States is playing a positive role in the world; most said the United States abuses it power and makes Russia do what the United States wants, according to the University of Maryland's WorldPublicOpinion.org out Sunday.

"I would like to see America meddle less in other countries," said Valentina Titova, a 60-year-old retired economist strolling not far from the Kremlin.

Obama will outline his vision for U.S.-Russian relations at a speech at the New Economic School. It is unclear how many people will see it. Russian leaders control the television outlets.

Obama also caused a stir in Russia by telling The Associated Press last week that Medvedev's predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has to learn that "the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated."

Russia and the United States have been allies and adversaries. Obama inherited more of the latter, with relations having tanked in 2008 over Russia's war with neighboring Georgia.

Obama got off to a solid start, though, with Medvedev during an April meeting in London.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

[The Brain]

 

[Neil]

What difference does it make, Tim?  It's not like the nukes ever get used for anything.  This way, the military can waste it's budget in other places.

[Martinus]

Has Poland been: sold out?

[Ed Anger]

If only, if only.

[Neil]

Has Poland been: sold out?

One would hope so.  Rather than wearing a choker, you can wear an iron collar and chain and work in Russian coal mines.

[Sheilbh]

Could the Russians even maintain more than 1500 warheads in good condition? If they can't, it's like making a concession for nothing.

I believe the Russian still have over 2000.  I always thought that we were more worried about the warheads the Russians weren't necessarily looking after than the ones they are.

[Razgovory]

Has Poland been: sold out?

One would hope so.  Rather than wearing a choker, you can wear an iron collar and chain and work in Russian coal mines.

But it's bad cause Obama did it.

[jimmy olsen]

Could the Russians even maintain more than 1500 warheads in good condition? If they can't, it's like making a concession for nothing.

I believe the Russian still have over 2000.  I always thought that we were more worried about the warheads the Russians weren't necessarily looking after than the ones they are.

That doesn't mean they're in good shape. I've read that that a significant percentage would fail to launch.