Obama, Russian Leader Closing Fast on Deal Cutting Nuclear Arms

3 years ago

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President Barack Obama is nearing a deal with Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev that would cut each nation's nuclear arsenal by more than one-fourth, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The pact, which could be signed by the two leaders in Prague early next month, would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), an agreement that ran out in December. The new deal would require the two nuclear superpowers to reduce warheads and missile launchers.

No formal comment from the White House or the Kremlin, but the Times said officials on both sides confirmed that a new deal was close. The two leaders still need to hold another conversation to finalize details, they said.

It would be a significant breakthrough for Obama, who has said he wants to "reset" relations with Russia.
The president met Wednesday with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the panel's top Republican, to brief them on developments. The Senate would have to ratify a new treaty before it could take effect.

Filed Under: Senate, Barack Obama, Foreign Policy, Obama Administration, National Security, International, Arms Control, Nuclear Proliferation

Tagged: daily guidance, DailyGuidance, nuclear weapons, NuclearWeapons, russia, strategic arms reduction treaty, StrategicArmsReductionTreaty

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