and USSR (later Russia) to 6,000 deployed nuclear warheads and a total of 1,600 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). president also praised the treaty as an opportunity to "reset" strained relations with Moscow, which have been at a low since Moscow's 2008 invasion of Georgia. In the speech, he pledged to work quickly toward reducing nuclear arsenals and getting a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty in place. He called the spread of nuclear weapons to more states an unacceptable risk to global security that threatens to spark an arms race from the Middle East to East Asia.įor Obama, who arrived in Prague after an overnight flight from Washington, D.C., the pact is a partial fulfillment of a pledge he made a year ago in a speech credited with helping him earn the Nobel Peace Prize. The president said the Iranians have "continually failed to meet their obligations." "Those nations that refuse to meet their obligations will be isolated," Obama said, referring to international commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. The White House also hopes the treaty will help set the stage for more international pressure on countries, such as Iran, that are working to develop their own nuclear weapons.
"Given this legacy of the Cold War, it is critical for us to show significant leadership," he said. "This ceremony is a testament to the truth that old adversaries can forge new partnerships," Obama said after the signing in the Spanish Hall, a lavish Renaissance chamber in the Czech capital's presidential castle complex.
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the so-called New START at a noon ceremony in Prague, where a year ago Obama delivered a landmark speech committing the U.S. and Russia signed their first strategic arms treaty in nearly two decades Thursday, aiming to draw down their nuclear arsenals by as much as one-third while forging improved relations between the former Cold War rivals. President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, hold up their signed copies of the nations' latest strategic arms treaty, called New START, on Thursday at Prague Castle in the Czech capital.
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