US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev emerged from their summit meeting in Moscow yesterday proud of their biggest achievement: a one-third cut in their strategic nuclear weapons arsenals.
The agreement between the two will pave the way for a successor to the 1991 Start I Treaty, which expires in December. The leaders hope the new pact will be an example to others at a time of rising concern at global nuclear proliferation.
The two presidents also struck deals on Afghanistan, with Russia promising to allow the transit of US aircraft carrying Afghanistan-bound troops and weapons, and on boosting bilateral co-operation.
Less than a year after relations deteriorated to a post-cold war low during last summer’s Georgian war, US and Russian defence chiefs sat down and signed a military co-operation agreement.
Pointing to these gains, Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev insisted that their meetings had made progress.
Mr Obama said they worked together “extremely effectively” and Mr Medvedev said the talks were “frank, open and sincere”.
But differences remain. Mr Obama said Georgia’s “sovereignty and integrity must be respected”, a clear criticism of Russia’s military occupation of the break-away regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and its recognition of their independence.
While the two leaders talked much about co-operating on Afghanistan, they barely said a word about Iran, where gaps exist between their agendas.
The most significant dispute is over anti-missile defence.
Russia did not secure any promises from the US to reconsider its plans for bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
But in an effort to smooth over the differences the two pledged to work together on “ballistic missile challenges” and to “conduct a joint review of the entire spectrum of means at our disposal that allow us to co-operate on monitoring the development of missile programmes around the world”.
Mr Obama acknowledged the “deep sensitivity and concern of Russia” over US plans.
Mr Medvedev said that differences remained but the link had been made between offensive and defensive weapons, as Russia had argued. Mr Obama said if Russia and the US could co-operate more on other concerns “I think the US and Russian views in this can be reconciled”.
Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia programme at the CSIS think tank in Washington, said missile defence was “still a thorny issue” that the two presidents had “side-stepped for now”.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a Moscow-based magazine, said: “Linking offensive and defensive weapons allows Russia to say that there has been progress and for the US to say that it does not mean anything. They have found a way to postpone the problem for now.”
Before flying into Moscow, Mr Obama had praised Mr Medvedev for his rule-of-law campaign and criticised Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, for being half-stuck in the cold war. But yesterday he would not be drawn on the issue of the two men’s roles.
The atmosphere in the press conference after the summit, in a richly decorated Kremlin hall, was sombre.
Vyacheslav Nikonov, a Kremlin-linked analyst, said Mr Medvedev had not allowed himself to be won over by the US president’s charm offensive.
Mr Obama’s subdued manner may have reflected the fact that his meeting with Mr Putin, over breakfast, is yet to come.– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)