President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the START Treaty Thursday. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)
Prague, Czech Republic (CNN) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed the START treaty, a major arms control agreement that reduces the nuclear stockpiles of both nations.
The treaty, whose full name is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, builds on a previous agreement that expired in December.
The agreement cuts the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia by about a third.
"This day demonstrates the determination of the United States and Russia - the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons - to pursue responsible global leadership," Obama said after the signing. "Together, we are keeping our commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which must be the foundation for global non-proliferation."
Medvedev called START a "win-win situation" for the two countries.
From CNN Politics
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A welcome sign. Despite his naysayers among the right wing in his own country, Obama has the respect of the international community and has already made a positive difference in how America is viewed around the world.
It's a shame the Nobel Peace Prize people didn't wait a year. If they gave Obama the Nobel after this, I can't see how even the most cynical conservatives could argue that it wasn't deserved.
Unless Medvedev lives in a small town in the USA where they cling to their guns and religion, he won't have to worry about being Obama's enemy.