US and Russia sign agreement
Quote:
Obama, Medvedev Reach Preliminary Deal on Nuclear Arms Reduction
In a sign the Cold War is definitely over, the U.S. and Russian presidents signed a joint understanding on reducing their countries' nuclear stockpiles to a maximum 1,675 weapons and 1,100 delivery vehicles.
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a "road map" for a future treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty on Monday, a prologue to a new plan to reduce the nuclear stockpile to its lowest level ever.
The joint understanding sets out plans to establish a Joint Data Exchange Center, which will notify each country of planned missile launches. It also calls on other countries with "missile potential to refrain from steps that could lead to missile proliferation and undermine regional and global stability."
And it urges interested countries to cooperate in assessing the danger of global proliferation of ballistic missiles.
The joint statement is the result of four months of negotiations between Russian and U.S. officials that began in London on April 1. It says it is a commitment to finding "optimum ways of strengthening strategic relations on the basis of mutual respect and interests."
The plan commits the United States and Russia to reduce their strategic warheads to a range of 1,500-1,675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1,100. It is an update to the START deal ratified in 2001 that is set to expire in December. The previous deal allowed up to 2,200 warheads and 1,600 launch vehicles.
The announcement was the first objective on an ambitious agenda developed for their first summit between the two countries. The two presidents were also expected to reach agreement on allowing flights through Russian airspace for U.S. forces in Afghanistan while also going to work on the economy, security, energy and the environment.
Obama and Medvedev started off their first summit on a positive note, all smiles at a press event before the two delegations proceeded into closed door meetings.
"The United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences," Obama said he sat down in an ornate Kremlin room with Medvedev. "If we work hard in these next few days ... we can make extraordinary progress that will benefit the people of both countries."
For his part, Medvedev seemed optimistic about the meetings, saying the two nations were "closing some of the pages of the past and opening some of the pages of the future."
"Even the weather favors us," he then joked about the drizzly gray skies blanketing Moscow. "It may be chilly outside but it's warm inside."
The first U.S.-Russia summit since the early part of the George W. Bush presidency presents a challenge for Obama -- with Russia's wary public, a two-headed leadership and lingering hard feelings. Much of the world will watch signs of Obama's relationship with Russia's two leaders, Medvedev and his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The foundation set now could affect how much cooperation Obama gets in areas in which the U.S. needs help from Russia -- chiefly pressuring Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, but also in tackling terrorism, global warming and the economy.
Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their two children arrived in Moscow on Monday afternoon, just as Russian news reports were coming out about the deal between the two nations. While the framework is a start, neither side is expecting a final agreement to be reached while Obama is on the ground in Moscow.
Other side agreements meant to sweeten the talks included a new joint commission to try to account for missing service members of both countries dating back to World War II. Four working groups will look into missing military personnel from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and Soviet military personnel still missing from Moscow's 10-year occupation of Afghanistan.
The White House also said the two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fields of public health and medical research, an arrangement intended to range across public health issues from infectious diseases to promotion of healthy lifestyles to improving global health.
Yet, the two sides remain in a stalemate over the U.S. pursuit of a missile-defense system in Europe. Obama's administration is reviewing the efficacy of plan, which Bush had pushed hard.
U.S. leaders have expressed hope of getting Russian cooperation on missile defense. But both sides have also shown signs of hardening their positions ahead of the summit.
The basic problem is unchanged: The U.S. 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.
"We're going to have to work our way through that," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told "FOX News Sunday."
After Air Force One jetliner touched down and a formal reception line on the airport tarmac, the entourage of Russian and U.S. officials headed directly to a wreath-laying ceremony at Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the sun breaking over the city's center as they drove in. The president walked slowly behind three high-stepping Russian soldiers, then straightened the wreath's ribbon where they placed it in front of the eternal flame and stood alone briefly.
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.
Russia and U.S. ties have plenty of room for improvement. Obama, who has enjoyed adoring crowds in travels across Europe so far, will face a skeptical Russian population, polling out Sunday shows.
Only 23 percent of Russians have confidence in Obama to do the right thing in international affairs, according to the University of Maryland's WorldPublicOpinion.org. Just 15 percent of the Russians polled said the U.S. is playing a positive role in the world; most said the United States abuses it power and makes Russia do what the U.S. wants.
"I would like there to be real change, not just talk," said Valentina Titova, a 60-year-old retired economist strolling not far from the Kremlin. "I would like to see America meddle less in other countries. They think they're so superior to others, they put themselves on a pedestal."
Aiming to change attitudes, 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.
As Obama told a Russian-language news channel in the days before the summit: "America respects Russia. We want to build relations where we deal as equals."
Yet he also caused a stir in Russia by telling The Associated Press last week that Putin has to learn that "the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated." That only elevated the stakes of Obama's first meeting with Putin, which is set for Tuesday.
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 with Medvedev, however, during an April meeting in London.$
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Rumor has it other included items that aren't being readily reported include having Russian military training at west point
__________________
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Be prepared, because someone else already is and no one knows their intent except them.
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July 6th, 2009
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