On April 1, President Barack Obama traveled to Europe and met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The two discussed their intention to negotiate a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired Dec. 5, 2009. The two countries agreed on a framework to set limitations on the number and type of nuclear weapons each country has.
In a joint statement, the two sides agreed to move forward with negotiations to seek record levels of reductions in strategic offensive arms.
But the Dec. 5 deadline came and went without a new treaty.
On the eve of the deadline, the two presidents again released a joint statement that stated, “Recognizing our mutual determination to support strategic stability between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, we express our commitment, as a matter of principle, to continue to work together in the spirit of the START Treaty following its expiration, as well as our firm intention to ensure that a new treaty on strategic arms enter into force at the earliest possible date.”
In the meantime, several thousand nuclear weapons possessed by the two countries remain on so-called “hair-trigger alert.”
Nonetheless, Obama has taken steps to negotiate with Russia on this issue. And both sides say they are committed to working toward a resolution. And so we move this one to In the Works.