Russia cannot take proposal seriously, says deputy PM

UNITED States President Barack Obama has offered a proposal to Russia that the two nations’ nuclear weapons should be slashed by up to a third.

In a keynote speech in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in which he also called for a world of “peace and justice,” Obama used the once divided city’s rebirth as a metaphor for progress, as he stood on the east side of the route of the Berlin Wall, and warned the “complacent” West that history did not stop with its Cold War victory.

“The wall belongs to history. But we have history to make as well,” a sweat-streaked Obama was quoted Wednesday by Agence France Presse (AFP) as telling an invited crowd of 6,000 people standing before the majestic landmark in sweltering summer weather.

The U.S. leader called on Russia to agree to bring the number of strategic nuclear weapons held by the former Cold War foes down to around 1,000 and to also cut stocks of tactical nuclear arms.

“I’ve determined that we can ensure the security of America and our allies and maintain a strong deterrent while reducing our strategic weapons by up to one-third,” Obama said.

“These are steps we can take to create a world of peace and justice,” he said, seeking to cement nuclear arms reductions as a key piece of his legacy.

It remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Obama had a frosty meeting at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland on Monday, will agree to such substantial weapons cuts.

But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin however poured cold water on the proposal.

“How can we take seriously this idea about cuts in strategic nuclear potential while the United States is developing its potential to intercept this strategic potential?” he said, according Russia’s Itar-TASS news agency.

A Kremlin spokesman said earlier that Russia had told the United States it wanted other nuclear-armed states to commit to reductions.

Obama sought to conjure up the echoes of speeches by predecessors John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, though his speech lacked the historic weight and urgency of their Cold War efforts.

However, North Korea expressed willingness yesterday to rejoin long-stalled nuclear talks, China’s foreign ministry announced, the second time in a month Pyongyang has told Beijing it is ready for such dialogue.

North Korean first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye-Gwan, made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Kim said that North Korea is willing to engage in any form of dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue, according to the statement.

That included six-party talks, Kim said, referring to a long-stalled process that began in 2003 but has been dormant since late 2008. The statement, however, offered no concrete details.
Source: http://infonigeria24.com/obama-wants-washington-moscow-to-cut-nuclear-weapons/

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