Cold War Flashback: The U.S. Talks Nukes With Russia

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Cold War Flashback: The U.S. Talks Nukes With Russia
Posted by michaelscherer


UPDATE: Obama will visit Moscow in July.

The news is actually quite encouraging. This afternoon (London time), Barack Obama met with his Russian counterpart Dmitriy Medvedev and much of the talk centered on nukes, as if Jelly Beans were still in vogue and Duran Duran was still burning up the charts. After the meeting, the two men released a joint statement reaffirming that "the era when our countries viewed each other as enemies is long over." It is a sweeping thing (which will be pasted below the jump in full).

A couple highlights: The two nations will restart talks immediately on reducing the nuclear arsenal, with plans to have a new deal worked out by July. "We committed our two countries to achieving a nuclear free world, while recognizing that this long-term goal will require a new emphasis on arms control and conflict resolution measures, and their full implementation by all concerned nations. We agreed to pursue new and verifiable reductions in our strategic offensive arsenals in a step-by-step process, beginning by replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new, legally-binding treaty."

They continued, with a detailed discussion of the nuclear proliferation issue. "We will deepen cooperation to combat nuclear terrorism. We will seek to further promote the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, which now unites 75 countries. We also support international negotiations for a verifiable treaty to end the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons. As a key measure of nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, we underscored the importance of the entering into force the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty."

ANOTHER UPDATE: Administration officials briefed reporters after the meeting. Key bullet points: Obama also emphasized "real disagreements" with Russians. He said that the idea of "sphere of influence" was "not a 21st Century idea." He said that the U.S. would not recognize South Ossetia as an independent country. Obama also discussed the brutal beating of Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov on Tuesday. The officials emphasized that the document below is an "aspirational document." "The statement is the beginning of a long process," the official said.

As promised, the whole thing after the jump.

Joint Statement by President Dmitriy Medvedev of the Russian Federation and President Barack Obama of the United States of America


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http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/04/01/cold-war-flashback-the-us-talks-nukes-with-russia/