U.S. Slashing Nuke Stockpiles: Was Obama Duped by Putin?

The Obama administration has negotiated its first major arms control treaty: a new pact between the U.S. and Russia that would cut by 30 percent the number of strategic nuclear warheads each country is permitted to deploy.

“It took patience. It took perseverance. But we never gave up. And as a result, the United States will be more secure, and the American people will be safer,” President Barack Obama said Friday in announcing an agreement on a new START treaty, the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades.

Obama told reporters in the White House briefing room that he spoke by telephone Friday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to confirm the new agreement. The two men are planning to travel to Prague for an April 8 signing ceremony, the White House said.

Obama said he hoped that by pledging nuclear reductions in the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, the deal will aid efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and add momentum to the international effort to rein in nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

“With this agreement, the United States and Russia — the two largest nuclear powers in the world — also send a clear signal that we intend to lead. By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities,” Obama said. Read more here.