Obama, Medvedev sign nuclear treaty in Prague

        Prague: President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed a treaty to shrink their nations' nuclear arsenals, the biggest such pact between the former Cold War foes in a generation.

      Tenaciously negotiated by even the leaders themselves, the treaty commits their nations to slash the number of strategic nuclear warheads by one-third and more than halve the number of missiles, submarines and bombers carrying them.

       In a lavish chamber within the Czech capital's presidential castle complex, the two presidents put their names to history.

        The treaty must be now be ratified by Russia's parliament and by the US Senate, where the White House lobbying effort is under way.

       The new treaty will shrink the limit of nuclear warheads to 1,550 per country over seven years. That still allows for mutual destruction several times over.

       But it is intended to send a strong signal that Russia and the US - which between them own more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons - are serious about disarmament.

      White House officials told reporters on Obama's flight to Prague that tougher sanctions against Iran's disputed nuclear programme would be high on the agenda of talks between the US leader and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before the signing.

      "The Russians are already committed to holding Iran accountable through the multilateral sanctions regime," deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.

      The White House said the two men would also discuss the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where opposition protesters forced out President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Wednesday in a poor Central Asian state where both Washington and Moscow have military bases.

      Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recognised the interium government formed by opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva on Thursday after speaking to her by telephone, his spokesman said. There was no immediate word on whether Washington would follow suit.

      Signing of the START II treaty, which will cut arsenals held by the former Cold War foes by about one-third, comes on the heels of a US policy review narrowing the scope for using nuclear weapons and builds momentum for an April 12-13 nuclear security summit in Washington.

     Obama landed in Prague early on Thursday to Medvedev for the signing ceremony at the medieval Prague Castle, where the US president set out his goal a year ago to work towards a world without nuclear weapons.

     Medvedev said on arrival on Wednesday that the treaty could play a considerable role in shaping disarmament in the future.

Source:gulfnews