MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States hopes to
build relations with Russia on the basis of equality, U.S. President Barack
Obama told Russian media ahead of his visit to Moscow next week.
"The main thing that I want to communicate to the
Russian leadership and the Russian people is America's respect for Russia, that
we want to deal as equals," Obama was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news
agency.
As nuclear superpowers, we have to handle those
responsibilities in a way that encourages peace, Obama said in an interview with
Itar-Tass and Russian TV channel on Thursday.
Obama said he hoped for a new strategic arms
reduction treaty that would leave no country with unilateral advantages.
"My goal is that both countries reduce their nuclear
stockpiles in a way that doesn't leave either country with an advantage, but
reduce tensions and the expense of maintaining such high nuclear stockpiles when
they're not necessary for our defense and our deterrence," he said.
"We will be able to advance a replacement for the
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), which is due to expire in December,
if we can get a framework document during the July summit," Obama said.
Other priorities on the agenda include
non-proliferation and the fight against terrorism.
"We need to create a strong non-proliferation
framework in the international community," Obama said.
He hoped he would reach a better understanding with
the Russian leaders at the summit.
Obama is scheduled to visit Moscow from July 6-8. It
will be the president's first visit to Russia since he took office in January.
MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin said on Friday that relations with the United States will move forward if
the latter refrains from stationing missile defense elements in central Europe,
local media reported.
"If we see that our American partners abstain from
deploying missile defense facilities in Europe, or, for example, review their
approach to expanding military-political blocs, or abandon bloc-like thinking,
this would be a large step forward," Putin was quoted as saying by the Interfax
news agency. Full story
MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama will sign a memorandum of
understanding on strategic arms reduction during their upcoming summit in
Moscow, a senior official said on Friday.
"It will be a framework document, which will outline
benchmarks for further work on an agreement to replace the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START I)," Sergei Prikhodko, Medvedev's foreign policy aide
was quoted as saying by Interfax. Full story
MOSCOW, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama will focus on a new treaty on
nuclear arms cuts during their upcoming summit in Moscow, a spokesman for the
Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The heads of state will discuss the most pressing
bilateral and international issues, Andrei Nesterenko told a regular press
conference. Full story
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have attached great importance to
the U.S.-Russian summit due next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said
on Wednesday.
During their telephone conversation on Tuesday, Obama and
Medvedev discussed issues set to dominate their summit, including bilateral
effort to reach a deal on the reduction of nuclear weapons, Gibbs told a news
briefing. Full story
PARIS, June 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S.
President Barack Obama received a rock star-style welcome wherever he went
during his tour of France and Germany over the weekend, clearly signaling a thaw
in transatlantic relations.
In fact, the effect of Obama's "new diplomacy" has already
emerged in recent summit talks -- the London G20, NATO and Europe-U.S. summits,
analysts say. Full story
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's
speech to the Muslim World in Cairo on Thursday heralds a new chapter in the
relations between the United States and the Muslim world, said analysts.
Obama reiterated that Islam is not contradicting with the
United States and the United States was based mainly on integration of
religions, Egypt's Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufed Shehab
told Xinhua. Full story
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a
long anticipated speech on June 4, 2009 to the Muslim world during his
visit to Egypt in Cairo University in Cairo, capital of Egypt, which is
aimed at recovering U.S. relations with Muslim countries. (Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
wrapped up Thursday afternoon his nine-hour visit to Cairo, where he delivered a
keynote speech aimed at a "new beginning" of relations with Muslims.
"I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between
the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interests
and mutual respect," Obama said in his speech, which is attended by more than a
thousand audiences in the Conference Hall of Cairo University. Full story
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Xinhua) -- When
assessing the U.S. president's first 100 days in office, a journalistic ritual
beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, everyone seems to have a different
version of Barack Obama's "balance sheet," a long list of his achievements and
setbacks. Full story
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gives
U.S. President Barack Obama a copy of "Las Venas Abiertas de America
Latina" by author Eduardo Galiano during a meeting at the Summit of the
Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad April 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago,
April 19 (Xinhua) -- By easing restrictions on Cuba, outreaching to Venezuela's
Hugo Chavez and his allies, U.S. President Barack Obama's low profile and
approachable debut before his Latin American counterparts has well illustrated
his policy toward the region -- from partnership to leadership. Full story
U.S. President Barack Obama addresses
the opening ceremony of the Fifth Summit of Americas in Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 2009.(Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago,
April 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday continued to use
soft diplomacy to win back Latin American countries who have long been
suspicious about their powerful neighbor.
The U.S. president, who was attending the 5th Summit of
the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, sat down with 33 other leaders from across
the continent to discuss issues of mutual concern ranging from economic crisis
to energy security. Full story
