In Russia, Defining the Reset

[ProSense]

MONDAY, JULY 6TH, 2009 AT 2:07 PM

In Russia, Defining the Reset

Posted by Jesse Lee

The President went to Russia as the first stop in his trip this week, continuing to work towards a "reset" of relations towards a more constructive path. This morning he joined President Dmitry A. Medvedev for a joint press conference, and summed up the meeting they had just held:

We've just concluded a very productive meeting. As President Medvedev just indicated, the President and I agreed that the relationship between Russia and the United States has suffered from a sense of drift. We resolved to reset U.S.-Russian relations, so that we can cooperate more effectively in areas of common interest. Today, after less than six months of collaboration, we've done exactly that by taking concrete steps forward on a range of issues, while paving the way for more progress in the future. And I think it's particularly notable that we've addressed the top priorities -- these are not second-tier issues, they are fundamental to the security and the prosperity of both countries.

The President wasted no time, forging a strengthened consensus on Afghanistan, creating a new strategic framework for military-to-military engagement between the United States and the Russian Federation, a recommitment to cooperation on reducing nuclear proliferation and in particular on a new, comprehensive, legally binding agreement on reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires on December 5, 2009. In addition the two Presidents agreed to create a Bilateral Presidential Commission, which they will chair and which will be coordinated by Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov, with working groups on issues ranging from agriculture to energy to space cooperation and cultural exchanges.


(President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign documents on nuclear arms reduction
before their news conference at the Kremlin in Moscow Monday, July 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

more

[ProSense]

1. This is good stuff. n/t

[CitizenLeft]

2. awesome

Just watched it on Cspan.

I'm so proud of our prez. :patriot: