The World Today, Mar. 18 - Clinton in Moscow to conclude nuclear arms limitation talks
By Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver SunMarch 18, 2010 10:30 AM
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on March 18, 2010. Clinton visited Russia in a bid to accelerate progress towards a new accord between the Cold War foes to drastically reduce their nuclear arsenals. Photograph by: YURI KADOBNOV, AFP
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Moscow this morning for talks aimed at overcoming remaining obstacles to a new treaty to cut nuclear weapons arsenals and to seek Russian support for tighter sanctions against Iran.
Clinton planned to meet Russian president Dmitri Medvedev and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov today. And a late announcement says she will also meet Russia's most powerful politician, prime minister Vladimir Putin on Friday.
The visit by the Secretary of State is part of a continuing attempt by the administration of President Barack Obama to “reset” relations with Moscow after a breach developed under his predecessor George W. Bush over American plans for a missile defence system based in Europe.
But most critically the Clinton visit comes after American and Russian teams are close to completing year-long negotiations on a new agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which cut the nuclear arsenals of both sides by up to a third.