Published: Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Deal struck on nuke arsenals between Obama, Medvedev
Warheads would be cut by as much as a third by the U.S. and Russia. But a snag was hit on missile launcher and bomber reductions, and limited progress was made on controversial U.S. plans for a missile defense program.
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Associated Press President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev talk before they sign a preliminary agreement in Moscow on Monday to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles by as much as a third.
MOSCOW -- President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached a preliminary agreement Monday to cut the American and Russian nuclear arsenals by as much as a third while exploring options for cooperation on missile defense.
The two leaders also signed pacts allowing the transit of U.S. military personnel and weapons through Russia to Afghanistan, restoring military-to-military ties, and pledging cooperation to limit the spread of nuclear materials.
The agreement instructs negotiators to draft a new accord that would maintain the critical verification mechanisms of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and cut the number of deployed nuclear warheads in each country to between 1,500 and 1,675, down from the previous ceiling of 2,200.
"As the world's two leading nuclear powers, the United States and Russia must lead by example, and that's what we're doing here today," Obama said.
Medvedev described the arms-control agreement as a "reasonable compromise" and "the first but very important step in the process of improving full-scale cooperation between our two countries."
But the two leaders failed to resolve a dispute over the contentious question of reductions in missile launchers and bombers, agreeing only that the START limit of 1,600 such "delivery vehicles" for each country should be lowered to between 1,100 and 500.
The wide range reflects continuing U.S. unwillingness to accept the Kremlin's demands for sharp cuts and could make it difficult for a new treaty to be negotiated and ratified before START expires.
The Russian military is worried the launchers and bombers could be used to quickly rebuild the U.S. nuclear arsenal and would pose a threat to Russian forces even if armed with non-nuclear warheads. But sharper reductions would be difficult for the Obama administration to accept politically.
The two presidents appeared to achieve progress in the long-standing dispute over U.S. missile defense plans, agreeing to work together to assess threats posed by countries such as Iran and North Korea. They also agreed to explore cooperation in missile defense and intensify talks on establishing a joint center for early detection of hostile launches.
While most of the agreements announced Monday were worked out by negotiators ahead of the summit, Obama and Medvedev reached the deal on missile defense themselves, said Michael McFaul, a senior Russia expert in the Obama administration.
Until the meeting, the Russians had refused to accept any statement on missile defense cooperation unless the United States also renounced plans for deploying the system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Obama said he told Medvedev his administration was still completing a review of missile defense options in Europe and would brief Russia on its conclusions "as soon as that review is complete," which he indicated should be before the end of the summer.
The two leaders also signed pacts allowing the transit of U.S. military personnel and weapons through Russia to Afghanistan, restoring military-to-military ties, and pledging cooperation to limit the spread of nuclear materials.
The agreement instructs negotiators to draft a new accord that would maintain the critical verification mechanisms of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and cut the number of deployed nuclear warheads in each country to between 1,500 and 1,675, down from the previous ceiling of 2,200.
"As the world's two leading nuclear powers, the United States and Russia must lead by example, and that's what we're doing here today," Obama said.
Medvedev described the arms-control agreement as a "reasonable compromise" and "the first but very important step in the process of improving full-scale cooperation between our two countries."
But the two leaders failed to resolve a dispute over the contentious question of reductions in missile launchers and bombers, agreeing only that the START limit of 1,600 such "delivery vehicles" for each country should be lowered to between 1,100 and 500.
The wide range reflects continuing U.S. unwillingness to accept the Kremlin's demands for sharp cuts and could make it difficult for a new treaty to be negotiated and ratified before START expires.
The Russian military is worried the launchers and bombers could be used to quickly rebuild the U.S. nuclear arsenal and would pose a threat to Russian forces even if armed with non-nuclear warheads. But sharper reductions would be difficult for the Obama administration to accept politically.
The two presidents appeared to achieve progress in the long-standing dispute over U.S. missile defense plans, agreeing to work together to assess threats posed by countries such as Iran and North Korea. They also agreed to explore cooperation in missile defense and intensify talks on establishing a joint center for early detection of hostile launches.
While most of the agreements announced Monday were worked out by negotiators ahead of the summit, Obama and Medvedev reached the deal on missile defense themselves, said Michael McFaul, a senior Russia expert in the Obama administration.
Until the meeting, the Russians had refused to accept any statement on missile defense cooperation unless the United States also renounced plans for deploying the system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Obama said he told Medvedev his administration was still completing a review of missile defense options in Europe and would brief Russia on its conclusions "as soon as that review is complete," which he indicated should be before the end of the summer.
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