03 July, 2009, 19:12
US President Obama is likely to focus on mutual benefits between Russia and the U.S., rather than on stumbling blocks in the relationships of the two while visiting Russian President Medvedev in Moscow next week.
“The U.S. is not seeking antagonistic relations and wants cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation, fighting terrorism and energy issues,” Obama said prior to the meeting.
“There are problems that we simply cannot resolve on our own, acting unilaterally. This is true, above all, of international security: the fight against terrorism, extremism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and drugs trafficking.”
“There are problems that we simply cannot resolve on our own, acting unilaterally. This is true, above all, of international security: the fight against terrorism, extremism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and drugs trafficking.”
Still, he had to admit that bilateral relations have worsened in recent years and are characterized by “a crisis of confidence, lack of action and unwillingness to take any new steps”. At the same time, he expressed hope that this crisis can and should be overcome.
While Obama, for his part, has urged Russia to break away from the old approach to bilateral relations. “Prime Minister Putin still has a lot of sway in Russia. I think it’s important, that even as we move forward with President Medvedev, that Putin understands that the old cold war approach to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated,” Obama noted.
“We are not standing one foot in the past and another in the future – we cannot be doing splits. Instead, we are standing firmly on our feet facing towards the future,” Vladimir Putin, replied in typical style, once he learned of Obama’s statement.
“If we see some new steps in other directions, for example if our American partners give up on their plans to deploy anti-missile defense systems in Europe, or re-consider their position on the expansion of military blocks, or even abandon the idea of military expansion at all – that would be great progress, of course,” added Putin.
There are hopes that president Obama’s visit to Moscow will be as intensive as it is extensive. The groundwork has been laid and now it’s time to get down to business.
“We’re covering a lot of issues, on some of which we agree and on some of which we don’t. It’s that contact and dialogue and cooperation which are so critical, including
the one on missile defense,” earlier said Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Talks on a new Strategic Arms Reduction
Talks on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are underway, but Russia sees the scrapping of the U.S. plans for an anti-missile defense shield in Eastern Europe as crucial to the success of the talks.
It has been a major sticking point for a long time and Putin and Bush gave it a go. Now Obama and Medvedev have their turn. Russia still sees the US anti-missile defense system (AMD) deployment as a threat to its national security and the U.S. still says the threat is not against Russia.
“The missile defense that we've talked about deploying is directed towards not Russia, but Iran. That has always been the concern, that you had potentially a missile from Iran that threatened either the United States or Europe,” said President Obama.
Speaking in the Russian Public Chamber in Moscow, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, explained why the new disarmament treaty is so important.
“This is our highest priority, since 75% of all nuclear warheads in the world are shared between our two countries. If we agree to further reduce our nuclear arsenals, it will send a very important signal to the rest of the world,” Beyrle said.
American columnist Craig Roberts believes Washington does expect concessions from Moscow. “I don’t think that Obama will take away the missile bases that he wants to put in Poland, the radar that he wants to put in the Czech Republic or that he will retreat from trying to bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. So whatever happens, for improved relations that will have to come from Moscow’s concessions to Obama,” Roberts told RT.
So far, the U.S. has not been willing to make AMD a part of the START deal, and believes the issues should be independent. Yet there's optimism Obama's visit could get things
off on the right foot.
“Certainly we will not see a successful signing of a new binding START treaty, but the signals we are receiving from the negotiating teams are quite positive,” said Boris Makarenko from the Centre for Political Studies.
It's Time to bury the hatchet
Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expanded on how the work on this problem would proceed.
“As for the U.S.-Russian talks on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), these talks are continuing constructively and effectively. The report [on the results of talks] will be presented by both presidents – Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama – when they meet on July 6 in Moscow.
We expect the presidents to acknowledge, on the record, that work already achieved, and confirm their commitment on concluding the remaining work by December of this year when the current agreement has expired,” Lavrov told journalists.
Also, both countries have agreed to slash their nuclear arsenals, but how and to what extent are still big questions. “We do not have a hostile attitude towards Americans. We do not want to build our relationship based on confrontation, and we want to reset our relations,” says Mikhail Margelov, the Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council.
Also, check out preparations in Moscow for the president's visit. Take a look at the presidential suite Obama will be staying in. See http://en.rian.ru/video/20090702/155415277.html
Sources: http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-03
Mutual_benefits_between_Russia_and_U.S._are_in_spotlight.html#
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Talks on a new Strategic Arms Reduction
Talks on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are underway, but Russia sees the scrapping of the U.S. plans for an anti-missile defense shield in Eastern Europe as crucial to the success of the talks.
It has been a major sticking point for a long time and Putin and Bush gave it a go. Now Obama and Medvedev have their turn. Russia still sees the US anti-missile defense system (AMD) deployment as a threat to its national security and the U.S. still says the threat is not against Russia.
“The missile defense that we've talked about deploying is directed towards not Russia, but Iran. That has always been the concern, that you had potentially a missile from Iran that threatened either the United States or Europe,” said President Obama.
Speaking in the Russian Public Chamber in Moscow, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, explained why the new disarmament treaty is so important.
“This is our highest priority, since 75% of all nuclear warheads in the world are shared between our two countries. If we agree to further reduce our nuclear arsenals, it will send a very important signal to the rest of the world,” Beyrle said.
American columnist Craig Roberts believes Washington does expect concessions from Moscow. “I don’t think that Obama will take away the missile bases that he wants to put in Poland, the radar that he wants to put in the Czech Republic or that he will retreat from trying to bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. So whatever happens, for improved relations that will have to come from Moscow’s concessions to Obama,” Roberts told RT.
So far, the U.S. has not been willing to make AMD a part of the START deal, and believes the issues should be independent. Yet there's optimism Obama's visit could get things
off on the right foot.
“Certainly we will not see a successful signing of a new binding START treaty, but the signals we are receiving from the negotiating teams are quite positive,” said Boris Makarenko from the Centre for Political Studies.
It's Time to bury the hatchet
Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expanded on how the work on this problem would proceed.
“As for the U.S.-Russian talks on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), these talks are continuing constructively and effectively. The report [on the results of talks] will be presented by both presidents – Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama – when they meet on July 6 in Moscow.
We expect the presidents to acknowledge, on the record, that work already achieved, and confirm their commitment on concluding the remaining work by December of this year when the current agreement has expired,” Lavrov told journalists.
Also, both countries have agreed to slash their nuclear arsenals, but how and to what extent are still big questions. “We do not have a hostile attitude towards Americans. We do not want to build our relationship based on confrontation, and we want to reset our relations,” says Mikhail Margelov, the Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council.
Also, check out preparations in Moscow for the president's visit. Take a look at the presidential suite Obama will be staying in. See http://en.rian.ru/video/20090702/155415277.html
Sources: http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-03
Mutual_benefits_between_Russia_and_U.S._are_in_spotlight.html#
Get 30 days of free traffic analysis simply by going to Web-Stat: http://www.web-stat.com/?id=2955
Contact Rightardia: eelder1@gmail.com
Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/blogspot/Onjs
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