25 June 2013
Obama seeks further nuclear stockpile reductions with Russia
President Obama announced in his foreign policy speech held in Berlin on Wednesday 19 June 2013 that he would seek negotiations with Russia with a view to reducing US strategic nuclear weapons by up to one-third, in addition to the cuts already required by the New START treaty. Obama also vowed to push the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that was rejected in 1999.
Non-proliferation was also discussed between the US and Russia on the sidelines of the G8 summit, but the President’s speech left unclear how the reductions would be coordinated, saying only that cuts would be negotiated, not committing to a treaty requiring Senate approval, where further cuts are expected to face obstacles. President Putin, speaking in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, did not comment on further reductions and raised instead concern about US missile defenses and high-precision weapons.
Source: The New York Times | Obama Asks Russia to Join in Reducing Nuclear Arms
Source: The Guardian | Barack Obama to call for nuclear stockpile reductions in Berlin speech
Source: CNN | Obama calls for reducing U.S., Russian nukes
Source: Newsmax | Obama in Berlin, Calls for Huge Cuts in Nuclear Arsenal