July 6, 2009
US President Barack Obama called his talks today with his Russian colleague Dmitry Medvedev “productive.” He said the meeting was time well spent and expressed his certainty that the two leaders will achieve progress on any topics they discuss, RIA Novosti reports.
Photo: www.livestory.com.ua
The hour and a half long talks took place in the Kremlin, beginning about two hours after the US president and his family arrived in the Russian capital. Crowds watched sullenly as their motorcade wended its way to the center of the city from Vnukovo Airport. The US First Family’s first stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexandrovsky Garden, adjacent to the Kremlin.
Strategic arms limitation was high on the agenda of the leaders’ talks. After the talks, the Kremlin released a document entitled “Joint Understanding on the Issue of Long-Term Reductions and Limitations in Strategic Offensive Weapons,” according to RIAN. The new agreement that will be reached will have a term of ten years, it was announced. Furthermore, weapons will be based only on the territory of the two countries. Nuclear warheads will be reduced from 1500-1675 and missiles will be reduced to 500-1100, but the US and Russia will independently determine the structure of their forces. Defensive and offensive weapons will be tied under the upcoming agreement.
In reference to US plans for missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, it was announced that Russian and US experts will jointly evaluate the threat of missile attacks and make joint recommendations on the matter. The presidents also signed a document on Afghanistan that will allow the US to use Russian airspace for the transport of military cargo to that country.
Several other issues were addressed by the leaders and their entourages. Vzglyad newspaper reports, for example, that an understanding was reached on prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action since World War Two. Contracts worth $1.5 billion are expected to be signed between US and Russian companies during Obama’s visit as well.
The presidents and their wives will dine together informally this evening at the Russian president’s residence outside Moscow.
Source:MosNews.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment