The rancour and mistrust of Bush-era relations between Russia and the US were cast aside yesterday when presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed an agreement on nuclear weapons that could prove historic. The two leaders agreed to work towards a treaty to replace the 1991 Start-1 pact which expires in December and to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 each. In a further sign of its willingness to repair fractured relations, Russia offered its airspace to US planes flying weapons and troops to Afghanistan. This will shorten flying time and save the US more than $100m (£62m) a year.Mr Obama announced that he intended to host a global nuclear summit next year to combat nuclear proliferation, the biggest threat to global security, and said he and Mr Medvedev had discussed a plan for Russia to reciprocate by hosting a follow-up meeting.
The rancour and mistrust of Bush-era relations between Russia and the US were cast aside yesterday when presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed an agreement on nuclear weapons that could prove historic.
The two leaders agreed to work towards a treaty to replace the 1991 Start-1 pact which expires in December and to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 each. In a further sign of its willingness to repair fractured relations, Russia offered its airspace to US planes flying weapons and troops to Afghanistan. This will shorten flying time and save the US more than $100m (£62m) a year.
Mr Obama announced that he intended to host a global nuclear summit next year to combat nuclear proliferation, the biggest threat to global security, and said he and Mr Medvedev had discussed a plan for Russia to reciprocate by hosting a follow-up meeting.
Nuclear disarmament is one of the main issues Barack Obama is addressing during his visit to Russia this week. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, Munich Security Conference head Wolfgang Ischinger argues that the dream of a nuclear arms-free world need not remain an illusion. Hiroshima, Japan, after the world's first attack with a nuclear bomb in 1945: Is a world free of nuclear weapons possible? SPIEGEL ONLINE: US President Obama is in Moscow right now for his first formal summit with Russian President Medvedev. At the close of the trip, an agreement on further nuclear disarmament is expected. How important are these talks if you take into account the fact that the current nuclear threats are more likely to come from other corners of the world? Ischinger: The negotiations between the USA and Russia over a successor treaty to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are of great importance. The two countries possess 96 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. Russia has 2,700 deployable nuclear warheads; the US has 2,200. I assume that this summit will set the course for a dramatic reduction of these weapons.
Nuclear disarmament is one of the main issues Barack Obama is addressing during his visit to Russia this week. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, Munich Security Conference head Wolfgang Ischinger argues that the dream of a nuclear arms-free world need not remain an illusion.
Hiroshima, Japan, after the world's first attack with a nuclear bomb in 1945: Is a world free of nuclear weapons possible?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: US President Obama is in Moscow right now for his first formal summit with Russian President Medvedev. At the close of the trip, an agreement on further nuclear disarmament is expected. How important are these talks if you take into account the fact that the current nuclear threats are more likely to come from other corners of the world?
Ischinger: The negotiations between the USA and Russia over a successor treaty to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are of great importance. The two countries possess 96 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. Russia has 2,700 deployable nuclear warheads; the US has 2,200. I assume that this summit will set the course for a dramatic reduction of these weapons.
Even now in the UK we know we cannot afford the new generation of nuclear missile, we know there is no need for it, we know there is no possible enemy to justify it, yet still our pols demand that it remain essential to Britain's defence. What they really mean is they are necessary to shore up the belief systems that sustains their sense of importance. keep to the Fen Causeway
US President Barack Obama has praised Vladimir Putin's "extraordinary work" as Russia's president and prime minister, while Putin said Russia was pinning its hopes on Obama to revive ties between the two countries. AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia was pinning its hopes on US President Barack Obama to revive ties with the United States as the two leaders met for the first time. The pair sought at their breakfast meeting at Putin's country residence to emphasise a cordial atmosphere after the US president caused controversy last week by saying Putin as had "one foot" in the past. Obama praised Putin -- seen by most as Russia's de facto leader -- for his "extraordinary work" as president between 2000-2008 and now in his new post as prime minister.
AFP - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia was pinning its hopes on US President Barack Obama to revive ties with the United States as the two leaders met for the first time. The pair sought at their breakfast meeting at Putin's country residence to emphasise a cordial atmosphere after the US president caused controversy last week by saying Putin as had "one foot" in the past. Obama praised Putin -- seen by most as Russia's de facto leader -- for his "extraordinary work" as president between 2000-2008 and now in his new post as prime minister.
I always think Israel does well by convincing US pols that Israel's interests are more important than those of the US. It's a neat trick. keep to the Fen Causeway
US President Barack Obama said the US wanted a strong, prosperous but also democratic Russia, as he set out his vision of the US relationship with its former Cold-War era foe, in a long-awaited speech at the end of his two-day visit to Moscow. AFP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States wanted a strong, prosperous but also democratic Russia, as he set out his vision of the US relationship with its former Cold-War era foe. In the most eagerly awaited address of his two-day visit to Moscow, Obama reached out to Russia by emphasising its place as a "great power" but also did not shy away from the differences between the two countries. The speech to students graduating from the progressive New Economic School came as Obama sought to revive ties with Russia bruised by a string of crises over the last decade.
AFP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States wanted a strong, prosperous but also democratic Russia, as he set out his vision of the US relationship with its former Cold-War era foe. In the most eagerly awaited address of his two-day visit to Moscow, Obama reached out to Russia by emphasising its place as a "great power" but also did not shy away from the differences between the two countries. The speech to students graduating from the progressive New Economic School came as Obama sought to revive ties with Russia bruised by a string of crises over the last decade.
