US, Russia work to reduce nuclear warheads

[April 01, 2009]  LONDON (AP) -- The United States and Russia have reached a deal to reopen talks about nuclear warheads, the first major arms discussions since 1997 and a potential breakthrough between the pair.

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were set to announce the talks on Wednesday during their first meeting, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in London, site of the G20 summit. Both countries want to reduce the number of warheads, but no firm number has been reached.

The leaders planned to discuss a possible replacement of the expiring 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limited the world's two largest nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads. That agreement, known as START, expires Dec. 5.

Obama's administration has reached out to Russia during its first two months in power, trying to repair a rift that emerged over the United States' plan to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe that Moscow vehemently opposes. Obama called a new arms control treaty push "a good place to start" in rebuilding a partnership with Russia.

Answering questions at a news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama lamented tensions and "drift" between Moscow and Washington in recent years. He told reporters that "I have no interest in papering those over," but also said the two countries share many interests, including reducing the threat of terrorism and stabilizing the world economy.

"Both sides of the Atlantic understand that, as much as the constant cloud of nuclear warfare has receded, that the presence of these deadly weapons continues to be the gravest threat to humanity," Obama said.

Obama said his country wanted to "press the reset button," a phrase that has been used by other top members of his administration -- initially by Vice President Joe Biden -- in addressing US-Russian relations.

The Kremlin has made clear it believes it is up to Washington to open the effort with concessions.

U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated in recent years to lowest point since the early 1980s. And Obama has indicated less enthusiasm than predecessor George W. Bush for a proposed U.S. missile defense system based in Eastern Europe, an idea that has enraged Russia.

[Associated Press; By JENNIFER LOVEN]

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