Red Ice News

The Future is the Past

Obama, Medvedev sign treaty to cut nuclear arms
New to Red Ice? Start Here!

Obama, Medvedev sign treaty to cut nuclear arms

Source: ctv.ca
Casting aside years of rancor, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed the biggest nuclear arms pact in a generation, lacing the moment with new warnings of sanctions for an intransigent Iran.


U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign a the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty. (CTK / Michal Dolezal)

The treaty, sealed after months of halting negotiation, is significant not just for what it does but for what it symbolizes: a fresh start for the United States and Russia, and evidence to a watching world that nuclear disarmament is more than a goal.

The pact commits their nations to slash the number of strategic nuclear warheads by one-third and more than halve the number of missiles, submarines and bombers carrying them.


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Czech President Vaclav Klaus walk to the Prague Castle, Prague on Thursday, April 8, 2010. The newly completed ’New START’ was signed in Prague on Thursday. (RIA Novosti / Dmitry Astakhov)

That still leaves the two countries with enough nuclear firepower to ensure mutual destruction several times over, but the move sets a foundation for deeper reductions, which both sides are already pursuing.

"It sends a signal around the world that the United States and Russia are prepared to once again take leadership," Obama said moments after he and Medvedev signed the treaty in a gleaming, ornate hall in the Czech Republic’s presidential castle.

Said the Russian president: "The entire world community has won."

The pact will shrink the limit of nuclear warheads to 1,550 per country over seven years, about a third less than the 2,200 currently permitted.

Looming over the celebration was Iran, which in the face of international pressures continues to assert that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes, not for weapons as suspected. Six powers -- the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, Germany and now China -- are in talks in New York about a fourth set of United Nations sanctions to pressure Iran into compliance.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to this," Medvedev said in a show of solidarity. But he said he was frank with Obama about how far Russia was willing to go, favoring only what he called "smart" sanctions that might have hope of changing behavior.


Video from: YouTube.com


Video from: YouTube.com

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov later elaborated by saying, for example, that Russia would not endorse a total embargo on the delivery of refined petroleum products into Iran. Such products might be targeted in other ways, or sanctions on Iran’s energy sector might be avoided altogether to avoid running into deal-breaking opposition from Russia or China.

The nuclear arms pact now faces a ratification vote in the Russian legislature and the U.S. Senate. At home, Obama’s team is struggling to get the necessary votes, and the president himself is directly involved. He said he was confident that Democrats and Republicans would see that the treaty protects U.S. interests — an upbeat view of bipartisanship in a town where it’s been scarce.

"I feel confident that we are going to be able to get it ratified," Obama said.

But prospects of the treaty’s ratification are still uncertain. Democratic officials said they hoped the treaty could be ratified by the end of the year, but that the timing of the debate would depend upon the submission of technical documents accompanying the treaty.

The treaty’s ratification also would depend on Republican support, which GOP lawmakers were reluctant to extend just yet. While Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, they are one vote shy of the 60 votes that are often needed to overcome procedural hurdles during debate. And 67 votes are needed to ratify the treaty.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Russia got bogged down in disputes, including Russia’s objection to U.S. missile defense plans for Europe. The Kremlin is still concerned about the plan but sought to tamp down talk it would withdraw from the new treaty if there is a buildup in the missile defense system. Russia codified its option to withdraw in a statement in connection with the treaty.

Obama said the treaty itself built trust that would help in solving any differences on the issue. Responded Medvedev: "I am an optimist as well as my American colleague. I believe that we will be able to reach a compromise."

Beyond slashing nuclear arsenals, the U.S. sees the new "START" treaty, as it is known, as a key part of efforts to reset ties with Russia, badly strained under the Bush administration, and engage Moscow more in dealing with global challenges, including the nuclear arsenal of North Korea and nuclear ambitions of Iran.

The new pact is only part of the Obama administration’s new nuclear strategy. It was signed only days after the White House announced a fundamental shift in its policy on the use of nuclear weapons, calling the acquisition of atomic arms by terrorists or rogue states a worse menace than the Cold War threat of mutual annihilation.

Other U.S. nuclear initiatives will follow the Prague signing. Leaders from more than 40 countries will gather in Washington next week to discuss improvements in securing nuclear materials.

The White House plans to lead calls for disarmament in May at the United Nations during an international conference on strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The treaty signed Thursday is the most significant nuclear disarmament pact in a generation, and Medvedev has lauded it as "an important step" in disarmament and arms control efforts.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the signing of the New START Treaty as a "milestone in the international efforts to advance nuclear disarmament and to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons," U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Russian analysts say Russia needs the deal to ease the burden of replacing a large number of aging Soviet-built missiles. "This treaty is in Russia’s best interests," said Sergei Rogov, the head of the USA and Canada Institute, an influential think tank.

Inside the hall, the anticipated moment came as the two presidents picked up their pens, glanced at each other and grinned as they signed several documents, with aides transferring the papers back and forth so all would have both signatures. When it was done, the leaders seemed momentarily at a loss, with Medvedev flashing a smile and a shrug before they stood to shake hands.

While the Russian parliament is likely to follow the Kremlin’s lead, the ratification process in the U.S. Senate could be troublesome. Fearing potential trouble, Moscow has said that Russian lawmakers will synchronize their moves to ratify the deal with the U.S. legislators.

Sensitive to East European concerns, Obama is tending to other business while in Prague -- hosting a dinner for leaders from 11 Central and Eastern European nations formerly in or near Moscow’s orbit, who worry about the Kremlin’s post-communist push for influence.

Under Obama, Russian cooperation on key priorities, from helping to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran to opening supply routes for the U.S. military into Afghanistan and agreeing to new arms reductions, has increased -- though not by a huge amount.

Article from: CTV.ca

Comments

We're Hiring

We are looking for a professional video editor, animator and graphics expert that can join us full time to work on our video productions.

Apply

Help Out

Sign up for a membership to support Red Ice. If you want to help advance our efforts further, please:

Donate

Tips

Send us a news tip or a
Guest suggestion

Send Tip

Related News

McMaster Worked at Think Tank Backed by Soros-Funded Group that Helped Obama Sell Iran Nuclear Deal
McMaster Worked at Think Tank Backed by Soros-Funded Group that Helped Obama Sell Iran Nuclear Deal
Paris Agreement Just Anti-White Virtue Signalling–Trump Signals America First
Paris Agreement Just Anti-White Virtue Signalling–Trump Signals America First

Archives Pick

Red Ice T-Shirts

Red Ice Radio

3Fourteen

Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Kim Coulter - Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter
Gifts - Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter

TV

Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue