OBAMA, MEDVEDEV SET TO MEET IN APRIL
New willingness for nuclear disarmament agreements


Khaimenova Alexandra
War & Peace Moscow correspondent




Recent reports in Russia, the US and world media encourage hope that long-awaited moves toward nuclear disarmament may be underway.

In early February the London Telegraph broke the story that Henry Kissinger had been visiting Russia for informal discussions with both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to clear the way for talks with President Barack Obama on renewing and speeding up nuclear disarmament. The paper said both the US and Russia might agree to immediate cuts to a thousand bombs each. Each currently has more than ten thousand nuclear warheads.

US Undersecretary of State, William Burns - a former US Ambassador to Russia - has since visited Moscow to prepare for more formal discussions. So has US Republican Senator Richard Lugar, a long-time nuclear disarmament proponent.

Obama and Medvedev are expected to meet face-to-face for the first time early in April. Both will be in London at the G-20 Summit where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says a meeting of the two leaders is "likely." Lavrov is to meet first with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva. Clinton has called for working with Russia to advance nuclear de-alerting and disarmament.

In Berlin US Vice President Joseph Biden said the Obama Administration wants to "press the reset button" on US-Russian relationships.

And Obama has said he will work with Russia to abolish nuclear weapons altogether.

Medvedev has welcomed cooperation with the US on "common tasks" including mutual and global security, nuclear disarmament, climate change and the global financial crisis.

In the first week he was inaugurated Obama called Medvedev confirming an early meeting.

If Obama decides to make a sweep of European capitals as part of his G-20 London conference then a visit to Moscow would be possible.


....................................................... Supporting Reports/articles/video:

Kissinger woos Russia for Obama – UK Telegraph
Medvedev welcomes nuclear disarmament – A.P.
Lavrov interview on Russian-US cooperation – Spiegel
Russian Press Review
Medvedev–Obama to meet – Interfax, Ukraine
Hillary Clinton on Nuclear Disarmament – Congressional hearings
Kissinger, Nunn, Perry, Schultz call for nuclear abolition – Wall St Journal
Obama declaration on nuclear disarmament – Youtube