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US and Russia sign historic nuclear treaty

08 April 2010 17:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States and Russia signed a historic treaty today to shrink stockpiles of nuclear weapons in a new show of cooperation designed to halt the spread of atomic bombs, particularly to Iran, APA reports quoting Timesonline.co.uk web-page.
President Obama, who attended the signing ceremony in Prague with President Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, said â€œramped upâ€ negotiations were expected in the coming days over Tehranâ€™s nuclear ambitions and that they were expected to produce another set of tough sanctions against the Islamist regime.
The two leaders also indicated a willingness to work together to overcome Russian fears about a US plan to build a missile defence shield in Europe â€“ a key obstacle in talks on disarmament. Mr Medvedev suggested that Moscow could help Washington to provide a global anti-missile defence.
Adding to a sense that relations have been â€œresetâ€, the former Cold War foes said they wanted to strengthen ties in other areas, such as trade and investment, and build on a friendship that has flourished between Mr Medvedev and Mr Obama.
â€œToday is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation and for US-Russia relations,â€ the American leader said, speaking in a hall in Prague Castle, where the ceremony was held.
A year ago, Mr Obama gave a speech inside the same castle, setting out his vision for a world without nuclear weapons. â€œThis is a long-term goal, one that may not even be achieved in my lifetime.
"But I believed then as I do now that the pursuit of that goal will move us further beyond the Cold War, strengthen the global non-proliferation regime and make the United States and the world safer.â€
The Russian President, standing at a podium next to Mr Obama, was similarly upbeat, marking a dramatic turnaround in Russia-US relations over the past 12 months when the two leaders launched negotiations on the treaty, following several years of deteriorating ties under President Bush. In that time, the two men have spoken 15 times on the telephone.
â€œI believe that this signature will open a new page for cooperation between our two countries,â€ Mr Medvedev said.
Smiling and at moments chuckling in an overt show of friendship, the pair signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which is seen as the first concrete foreign policy achievement by Mr Obama since he took office.
The agreement requires Moscow and Washington â€“ holders of more than 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons â€“ to slash their respective arsenals by about a third and reduce launchers by a half within seven years.
The pact, which was already delayed because of difficulties in negotiations, could yet be undermined if either side fails to ratify the text, though the United States and Russia appeared confident of ratification this year. They also looked forward to starting work on another treaty that goes even further in cutting both countriesâ€™ nuclear arsenals.