Obama and Medvedev Meet; New Arms Treaty Deadline Pushed to Next Year
EmailPresident Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met today in Copenhagen in an effort to complete the nuclear disarmament treaty to replace the START treaty that expired on December 5, with no indication it will be completed before 2010.
“Our main focus today was the START treaty, the new START treaty that we had been negotiating,” President Obama said. “We’ve been making excellent progress. We are quite close to an agreement.”
Whereas in the past the White House had expressed confidence that the new treaty would be signed – if not ratified by the Senate and the Russian Duma – by December 5, a deadline they later changed to the end of the year, today President Obama would only say he’s “confident that it will be completed in a timely fashion.”
After the meeting, Medvedev aide Sergei Eduardovich Prikhodko told reporters that no agreement will be made before the end of the year, and that negotiations “will continue in January. The presidents have expressed confidence that in the foreseeable future, the work will be completed.”
Speaking in Russian, Medvedev said there were “certain technical details… which require further work. I hope that we will be able to do that in a brief period of time.”
U.S. officials said those details mostly deal with verification, the ability of the two countries to monitor each other and ensure each is abiding by the agreement.
President Obama thanked Medvedev “for being a very effective partner in these negotiations. We wish him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
Medvedev said that he was in Copenhagen “to move forward on climate issues” but “it would be unreasonable not to use this opportunity to discuss what we’ve been working on in very coordinated and persistent manner. And I would like to thank Mr. Obama and his negotiating team talking about the new treaty on the reduction of strategic arms.”
Medvedev said the U.S. and Russian “positions are very close and almost all of the issues that we’ve been discussing for the last month are almost close.”
The Russian president also offered a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.) were also at the meeting.
– jpt
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“Whereas in the past the White House had expressed confidence that the new treaty would be signed — if not ratified by the Senate and the Russian Duma — by December 5″
Yet ANOTHER miscalculation by The One. These negotiations should not be rushed to meet another Obama political deadline.
I hope he is wrong again about passage of “healthcare reform” bill.
Posted by: tjp612 | December 18, 2009, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm
The US will get rolled again.
Posted by: Vlad | December 18, 2009, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
F.A.I.L.
Just add it to the list…
Apparently, being President is harder than it looks. Unlike growing up and getting what you want with a witty comment and a flashy smile.
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 1:42 pm 1:42 pm
we are the laughing stock of the world now…. What a loser and apologist
Posted by: welcome to Obamaville,the fastest growing homeless community | December 18, 2009, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm
Obama, struggling to find some success at a chaotic Copenhagen climate conference, warns U.S. is prepared to walk away rather than accept ‘hollow victory’
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LMAO….promises… promises
Posted by: welcome to Obamaville,the fastest growing homeless community | December 18, 2009, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
I think we should stop and pause for a moment and ask ourselves “Can Obama accomplish anything?”
Many of us are happy if he fails domestically but on foreign policy it is NOT in our best interests to have a President that appears ‘weak’.
We’ve been there before and I hate to see us return to the late 70′s again.
Posted by: Denbo | December 18, 2009, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
Yeah, a new arms control treaty. Everyone including us will follow it, I am sure.
Posted by: Huh | December 18, 2009, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
we are the laughing stock of the world now…. What a loser and apologist
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Not at all!
It is the right wing who have been attempting to smear the President with this image – but to the rest of the world, including most Americans (52%) Obama is a blessed relief and doing a good job.
We have not forgotten the 8 years of Bush, Cheney, Libby, Rumsfeld and the Republicans.
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
weren’t republicans saying that the Russian/georgian conflict would lead to WW3 or a russian take over of Europe….?
McCain….. ‘we’re all Georgians’
wow, they were wrong again
Posted by: INT | December 18, 2009, 2:44 pm 2:44 pm
You must have missed this item:
MOSCOW, Sept 11, 2009 (Reuters) – Russia’s navy chief said on Friday that a Mistral-class warship the military wants to buy from France would have helped it fight its five-day war against Georgia last year.
The top brass say they want to buy the 21,300-tonne helicopter carrier from France…
Posted by: Save the Children | December 18, 2009, 3:05 pm 3:05 pm
The left continuing to prop up their cardboard cut-out?
Posted by: Save the Children | December 18, 2009, 3:06 pm 3:06 pm
The left continuing to prop up their cardboard cut-out?
___________________________________
52% of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing according to Gallup. You’ve got leftists mixed up with ordinary Americans.
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 3:13 pm 3:13 pm
tierra —Iraq 16 month pullout: LATE.
Gitmo Closure: LATE
START II: LATE
Afghan troops: LATE
Health Care: LATE
Cash for Clunkers: WAY OFF
Filling Positions: LATE
Maybe it’s just me, but he doesn’t have a good record when he gives us an estimate. Hence, I don’t trust them with the health care estimates either.
Posted by: lfrichar | December 18, 2009, 3:16 pm 3:16 pm
Maybe it’s just me, but he doesn’t have a good record when he gives us an estimate.
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Obama sets really aggressive targets when it comes to deadlines. I would rather he set aggressive targets.
-Iraq 16 month pullout: LATE. How can he be late on a 16-month pullout? He’s only been in office 11 months.
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
“wow, they were wrong again”
I’m not familiar with the assertion that “the Russian/georgian conflict would lead to WW3 or a russian take over of Europe”, but perhaps it was made with the assumption that the U.S. would defend democracies against aggression.
With this (weak) administration, that assumption is no longer valid. Obama gets rolled by everyone: The Chinese, the Iranians, Chavez, Pelosi, Putin, Michelle, Ortega, etc., etc., etc. Weaker than Jimmy Carter.
Posted by: tjp612 | December 18, 2009, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
“Obama sets really aggressive targets when it comes to deadlines. I would rather he set aggressive targets.”
Yeah, over-promise and under-perform. Pay no heed to any sense of accountability.
Great plan. In the private sector, this approach doesn’t get you accolades, it gets you fired.
Obama doesn’t know this as he has never worked in the private sector (or even held a steady, full-time job).
Posted by: tjp612 | December 18, 2009, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
“”"-Iraq 16 month pullout: LATE. How can he be late on a 16-month pullout? He’s only been in office 11 months.”"”
Posted by: tierra
I was a logistics NCO in the military and there is no way he can make that deadline. Aggressive is one thing, realistic is another. You do realize when he says something, people expect him to do it? You can set goals high, but when you put a time limit on it, it then becomes an expectation.
Posted by: lfrichar | December 18, 2009, 3:26 pm 3:26 pm
Great plan. In the private sector, this approach doesn’t get you accolades, it gets you fired.
______________________________
Nonsense, in the private sector anybody with half a brain builds in a cushion, so that deadlines are set but some length of time is built into the process to allow for unexpected delays or snags.
Now ‘misplacing’ $9 BILLION dollars in Iraq – as Bush, Cheney and Halliburton managed to do is a totally different thing. That is incompetence – wonder who got that money? Al Qaeda?
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm
“Nonsense, in the private sector anybody with half a brain builds in a cushion, so that deadlines are set but some length of time is built into the process to allow for unexpected delays or snags.”
This, tierra, would appear to be an admission that Obama has less than “half a brain”. We finally agree!
Posted by: tjp612 | December 18, 2009, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
“”"”Nonsense, in the private sector anybody with half a brain builds in a cushion, so that deadlines are set but some length of time is built into the process to allow for unexpected delays or snags.”"”"”"
Posted by: tierra
So why doesn’t Obama? This is our point. If you never hit your target, you become unreliable.
Posted by: lfrichar | December 18, 2009, 3:39 pm 3:39 pm
Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 3:41:58 PM
You are on fire today! Keep up the deep intellectual defense of your positions!
Posted by: tjp612 | December 18, 2009, 3:46 pm 3:46 pm
52% of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing according to Gallup. You’ve got leftists mixed up with ordinary Americans.
Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 3:13:09 PM
I thought Real Clear Politics was the % of choice? It was when Rasmussen was being quoted. O’s RCP average is 49.3%.
(The only “ordinary Americans” you know are the tourists that come through your town.)
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm
“Yes, we can!” is now the Chicago Cubs motto “Wait ’til next year!”
Posted by: The Audacity of Copenhagen | December 18, 2009, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
Nonsense, in the private sector anybody with half a brain builds in a cushion, so that deadlines are set but some length of time is built into the process to allow for unexpected delays or snags.
Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 3:30:16 PM
So I guess what you’re saying is that in the public sector (using Obama as an example), they set realistic, agressive goals and stick to them. BWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
That must be why we have all those tightly run government agencies that never waste money! BWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
President Obama set some very agressive time tables for getting things accomplished. When you set aggressive time tables, there are sometimes snags and holdbacks. It’s the real world of big-time United States politics – get used to it.
Bush, Cheney and Halliburton ‘misplaced’ $9 BILLION dollars in Iraq. Stuff happens, get used to it.
Where did that $9 BILLION end up? In the hands of Al Qaeda?
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
When you set aggressive time tables, there are sometimes snags and holdbacks.
Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 4:06:30 PM
It can also happen when you don’t know what you’re doing. So how do you tell the difference?
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
You right wing Republican types will have to make up your minds – is Obama pandering to Wall Street, the big banks, and sold out to Big Pharma OR is he a ‘hard left re-distributionist’?
The right wing Republicans seem so confused and muddled in their arguments on here.
Your big mistake is attacking the President for ‘everything’ he does – it makes your arguments and your agenda very easy to see through.
Posted by: tierra | December 18, 2009, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
but to the rest of the world, including most Americans (52%) Obama is a blessed relief and doing a good job.
Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 2:36:15 PM
Gallup has polled the world?
So was that the actual Gallup survey question? (Is Obama a blessed relief and doing a good job?) Or are you improvising and adding your own commentary to Gallup’s polling? No need to respond – I already know the answer.
If you’re going to try to state facts, at least stick to the facts and stop twisting them into a personal commentary. Otherwise, we might not take you seriously. (snort)
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
is Obama pandering to Wall Street, the big banks, and sold out to Big Pharma OR is he a ‘hard left re-distributionist’?
Your big mistake is attacking the President for ‘everything’ he does Posted by: tierra | Dec 18, 2009 4:12:14 PM
Your big mistake is thinking he can’t be both. He can keep the super rich and corrupt happy while redistributing the wealth of the layers below them. You don’t really think he plans to take anything away from the rich and powerful from Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, etc. He’s using them as much as they are using him. The redistribution will come from those who are wealthy but have no political power to keep what they earn.
Posted by: Live! From DC! It's Sat Night! | December 18, 2009, 4:22 pm 4:22 pm
It can also happen when you don’t know what you’re doing. So how do you tell the difference?
Posted by: Live! From DC! It’s Sat Night! | Dec 18, 2009 4:09:57 PM
—
Is the point to get the estimate dead on, or to solve a problem? Seems to me Republicans put too much pressure on either getting it exactly how you want it, estimated correctly, done now, gratification in the short term, perfect.. OR… nothing, nada, zip, kick it down the road (see the 2005 bill that would have helped correct course on the coming economic crisis)– so we end up with a lot of nothing from that party. I’d rather set aggressive time tables, make estimates and be strong enough to tweak as we go, but still keep going.
Sometimes you have to be willing to look range, go beyond the horse race and the sound bite.
Posted by: Elsa Marie | December 18, 2009, 5:18 pm 5:18 pm
we might not take you seriously. (snort)
–
Speaking of that, let’s take a look at what the Republicans have been up to recently.
As Dan Pfeiffer blogged today, Senate Republicans are guilty of “stunning” hypocrisy, “political gamesmanship at its worst,” and “stunts and obstruction” that “have reached a new low.” The attempt last night to delay a vote on the annual Defense Department spending bill was intended to delay passage of the necessary military spending bill in order to push back action on health care reform. If the shoe had been on the other foot, Republicans would have been outraged. In fact, Pfeiffer cites quotes from the Bush years, during which Senate Republican leaders accused Democrats of risking the lives of U.S. troops for political aims. As Pfeiffer puts it, “Now though, as we debate not foreign policy but health care, the Department of Defense funding can wait? Incredible.”
Earlier in the week, the President’s pal, Tom Coburn (talk about an odd couple) demanded that Sen. Bernie Sanders’) 767 page single payer amendment be read in full on the Senate floor. Were all these games in Senator Gregg’s obstruction manual?
I don’t know. But the fact that an obstruction manual was drawn up by someone who as recently as a year or two ago complained about obstructionism is telling.
Last week, Senators Kyl and Bennett admitted that none of the Republicans’ amendments to the bill are intended to actually make it better.
Senator Inhofe went to Copenhagen for two hours, it was a bust and a reporter from Der Spiegel told him he was ridiculous.
Posted by: DMM | December 18, 2009, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
It can also happen when you don’t know what you’re doing. So how do you tell the difference?
Posted by: Live! From DC! It’s Sat Night!
as with all things, compare and contrast, for example:
when Bush was selected in 2000 he took office with the US at peace relatively speaking, with a budget surplus, in his 8 years, we were attacked,he let a major American city drown, destroyed the American economy and left 2 wars unfinished.
Obama has been in office less than a year:
he inherited a crashed economy, massive unemployment, 2 unfinished wars, and is in the process of trying to fix what he was left.
you might not agree with him or be comfortable with his time lines being met ( curious for republicans to be so concerned now about time lines now) but we arrive at the point which is:
Republicans, tea party folks, ‘conservatives’, and yes, some Dems and Indys are upset that with the dismal hand he was dealt, Obama has not fixed everything in one year. To be fair I don’t know whether he can or even if it would be possible for anyone to do that.
to compare 8 years of Bush to less than one for Obama and approach it as an equal comparison is to strain credulity
Posted by: Look to the East | December 18, 2009, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm