Obama in Moscow for Nuke Talks

Missile defense 'extraordinarily complex'

(NEWSER) - Asked about yesterday's "oops" when he and Dmitri Medvedev were overheard talking about European missile defense , the first thing President Obama said was, "Are the mikes on?" That got laughs, but Obama quickly turned serious, the Washington Post reports, calling missile defense "extraordinarily complex." He added, "I don’t think it’s any surprise that you can’t start that a few months before a presidential and congressional elections in the United States," not to mention elections in Russia. More»

Move a step toward repairing US-Russian relations

(AP) - President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed today to sharp cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both nations in the most comprehensive arms control treaty in two decades. "We have turned words into action," Obama declared. He said the pact, to be signed April 8 in Prague, was part of his effort to reset relations with Russia and a step on a path toward "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." More»

Deal will be finalized in upcoming meeting between Obama, Medvedev

(AP) - The United States and Russia have reached an agreement on "all documents" necessary to sign a new nuclear arms treaty, a senior Kremlin official said today, and the White House said the two nations are "very close" to signing it. President Obama spent an hour today in the White House briefing Senate Foreign Relations Committee honchos John Kerry and Richard Lugar on the effort to ratify the treaty. Czech officials announced that Prague will host the treaty's signing, but didn't give a date. More»

(AP) - President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are countering "a sense of drift" in relations between their nations with preliminary agreement Monday to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles to as few as 1,500 warheads each. "We must lead by example, and that's what we are doing here today," Obama said as he and his Russian host pointed their arsenals toward the lowest levels of any US-Russia arms control agreement. More»

Won't engage in 'some sort of trade' with Obama

(NEWSER) - Dmitry Medvedev won’t engage in “some sort of trade or exchange” with Barack Obama in order to halt the contentious anti-ballistic missile system the US wants to put in Eastern Europe, the Financial Times reports. Medvedev today confirmed that Obama had sent him a secret letter with some “suggestions,” but said horse-trading was “not productive.” But he added that the note was “evidence of one thing at least: that they are willing to discuss the problem.” More»