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Obama, Medvedev to Discuss Arms Deal in Copenhagen

   VOA News 17 December 2009
   U.S.  President Barack Obama (l) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
   outside the Kremlin, 07 Jul7, 2009

Photo: AP

   U.S.  President Barack Obama (l) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
   outside the Kremlin, 07 Jul7, 2009

   A  senior  U.S.  official  says  President  Barack  Obama  and Russian
   President Dmitri Medvedev will meet Friday to discuss efforts to reach
   a new arms control treaty.
   The two will meet on the sidelines of the climate change conference in
   Copenhagen.
   U.S.  and  Russian negotiators have been trying for months to work out
   an  agreement  to  replace  the  1991  Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
   (START).
   Earlier  this  week, the U.S. State Department said the two sides were
   getting close to a deal.
   Russian   Foreign   Minister   Sergei  Lavrov  Thursday  accused  U.S.
   negotiators of slowing down the talks.
   White  House  spokesman Robert Gibbs denied this, but said it does not
   make  sense to conclude an agreement, in his words, "just for the sake
   of  getting it."  Gibbs said U.S. negotiators are going to work on the
   deal until they get it right.
   Lavrov  Thursday  called  on  Washington  to accept deeper cuts in its
   nuclear  arsenal  and less intrusive verification measures. The United
   States  says  it wants to keep the verification system that was in the
   old  START  treaty.  Moscow says it no longer wants U.S. inspectors in
   its main missile plant.

   Some  information  for  this report was provided by AFP, AP, Bloomberg
   and Reuters.

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