Kick-START: New Treaty, New Momentum

We are happy to serve you a daily summary of the day's top nuclear policy stories each morning, with excerpts from the stories in bullet form.

Stories we're following today:

Obama, Russian President Sign Arms Treaty - CNN [link]

• Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation, and for U.S.-Russia relations. It fulfills our common objective to negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. It includes significant reductions in the nuclear weapons that we will deploy.  It includes a comprehensive verification regime, which allows us to further build trust. It enables both sides the flexibility to protect our security, as well as America’s unwavering commitment to the security of our European allies. And I look forward to working with the United States Senate to achieve ratification of this important Treaty later this year.
• Finally, this day demonstrates the determination of the United States and Russia – the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons – to pursue responsible global leadership. Together, we are keeping our commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which must be the foundation of global non-proliferation.
• While the new START treaty is an important step forward, it is just one step on a longer journey. As I said last year in Prague, this treaty will set the stage for further cuts. And going forward, we hope to pursue discussions with Russia on reducing both our strategic and tactical weapons, including non-deployed weapons.
• And this ceremony is a testament to the truth that old adversaries can forge new partnerships. ... The pursuit of peace and calm and cooperation among nations is the work of both leaders and peoples in the 21st century. For we must be as persistent and passionate in our pursuit of progress as any who would stand in our way.

A New START in Prague - The White House Blog [link]

• In a few hours, President Obama will arrive in Prague, Czech Republic, to sign the new strategic arms control agreement with Russia in a ceremony with President Medvedev of Russia.
• Soon the treaty will go to the Senate, where it must receive support from two-thirds of the chamber before it can take effect.
• The Russian government made a “unilateral statement” in connection with the treaty signing that indicated that if there is a qualitative and quantitative build-up in the U.S. missile defense system, such a development would justify Russia’s withdrawal from the New START Treaty.
• There is nothing unusual about withdrawal clauses in treaties. Most treaties that the United States enters into have one -- for the simple reason that we want an escape hatch if circumstances change that affect our national interests.
• The Russian statement does no more than give the United States fair notice that it may decide to pull out of the New START Treaty if Russia believes our missile defense system affects strategic stability. We believe it doesn’t, and the President has made clear that he is committed to continuing to develop and deploy that system.

U.S. and Russia Sign Nuclear Arms Pact - The New York Times [link]

• With flourish and fanfare, President Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia signed a nuclear arms control treaty on Thursday and opened what they hoped would be a new era in the tumultuous relationship between two former cold war adversaries.
• “When the United States and Russia are not able to work together on big issues, it is not good for either of our nations, nor is it good for the world,” Mr. Obama said as his words echoed through a majestic, gilded hall in the famed Prague Castle. “Together, we have stopped the drift, and proven the benefits of cooperation. Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and nonproliferation, and for U.S.-Russia relations.”
• Mr. Medvedev called the treaty signing “a truly historic event” that will “open a new page” in Russian-American relations. “What matters most is this is a win-win situation,” he said. “No one stands to lose from this agreement. I believe this is a typical feature of our cooperation. Both parties have won.”

President Obama, Dmitry Medvedev Sign Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty - Politico [link]

• Making a down-payment on his goal of a nuclear arms-free world, President Barack Obama signed a new treaty with his Russian counterpart Thursday to reduce nuclear arsenals on both sides by about one-third.
• Obama also predicted the U.S. Senate would ratify the treaty, despite some Republicans objections that it goes too far in reducing American military might.
• Obama said the chamber has a "strong history of bipartisanship" on approving on arms pacts and said he has spoken with the "chairmen of the relevant committees" in the Senate.
• Obama arrived in Prague after an overnight Thursday morning, and on Air Force One, seemed to be in good spirits – heading into a day that marked a significant foreign policy accomplishment to build on his recent health care successes at home.
• The new START treaty is seen as more symbolic than substantive, but marks a clear step in U.S. relations with Russia