Obama, Medvedev Agree to New Nuclear Arms Talks

Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev pledged to "move beyond Cold War mentalities" at their first ever meeting, at the American ambassador's residence in London. The two presidents agreed to negotiate a new weapons treaty that would see both countries reduce their nuclear stockpiles—the first such talks for more than a decade. Obama also accepted an invitation to visit Moscow this July.

While no firm numbers were given in today's joint statement, Obama and Medvedev did say that they want a new treaty in place by December, when the 1991 START treaty expires. The leaders also called on Iran to "restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature" of its nuclear program and expressed concern about North Korea's upcoming ballistic missile launch. (More Barack Obama stories.)