Russia and the U.S. Battle over Nuclear Weapons Cuts

U.S. President Barack Obama was putting the emphasis on nuclear arms cuts in an interview with Russian tv ahead of his first visit to the country.

[Barack Obama, U.S. President]:

„We are both nuclear superpowers. With that comes special responsibilities that are very different from the positions of many other countries of the world and we have to handle those responsibilities.“

Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have met before but there’s a lot riding on Obama’s mission to Moscow.

Just days before Obama’s arrival, negotiators were still battling to agree the scale of nuclear weapons reductions.

That’s not the only hurdle.

Russia is also deeply unhappy about Washington’s plans for a global defense system.

The program would see anti-missile batteries and radar detection systems in nearby nations like Poland and the Czech Republic.

Russia’s Foreign Affairs Committee chairman is Mikhail Margelov.

[Mikhail Margelov, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman]:

„Our point on missile defence is: Ok, if we have common threats let us build shields together.  Let us think about (a) system which covers Russia, European Union, America, maybe other players who care about the security issues.“

Analysts like Maria Lipman of the Carnegie Institute in Moscow say Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a broader agenda.

[Maria Lipman, Russia Analyst, Carnegie Institute]:

„In a nutshell the interest is reasserting Russia, making Russia great.“

Even before he’s set foot in Russia, Obama appears to have ruffled Putin’s feathers.

Obama has said Putin had one foot in the old ways of doing business and should understand the Cold War approach to U.S-Russian relations was outdated.

Putin’s spokesman says Obama doesn’t have all the facts and would be „relieved of any mistaken impressions“ during his visit.

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