Washington, MArch 27: Russia and the US will sign their most comprehensive nuclear arms control agreement of the post-Cold War era in Prague next month, slashing their strategic warheads by a third, and making substantial cuts in missiles and other long-range delivery systems.
The deal announced yesterday by Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev breaks years of deadlock but it is at least as important in diplomatic and political terms as in its purely military aspects. For Mr Obama, the new treaty is a foreign policy achievement to match his huge domestic victory this week in pushing through historic healthcare legislation – and one that goes a long way to fulfil his administration’s pledge to “re-set” relations with its former superpower rival.
The timing of the arms control breakthrough – the first comprehensive deal limiting nuclear weapons since 1991 – moreover is perfect, amounting to a down payment by the US ahead of the nuclear security summit Mr Obama is hosting in Washington next month, and the nuclear non-proliferation review conference at the United Nations in May.
–Agencies