This
morning President Obama and Russian President Medvedev finalized the terms of a
new treaty replacing the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that
expired late last year. They will meet
in Prague on April 8 to sign the treaty.
The completion of the agreement, which is the largest arms control
agreement nearly two decades, demonstrates clear and concrete action in both
protecting American security and advancing our global nonproliferation goals
while restoring America's international leadership and standing.
Today, Secretary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov with – literally – a “reset button” for the US-Russia relationship. Her gesture at their first meeting capped forty days of positive signals to Moscow on the need to forge a new relationship based around “mutual respect” and the urgent need for cooperation on a range of issues including Iran, Afghanistan, nonproliferation, and European – Russian relations.
Fewer than 50 days into his Presidency, Barack Obama has begun to set a different framework for how America deals with the Middle East. There is no question that today America’s choices and flexibility in the region are far greater than they were only 50 days ago.
