Obama to offer Russia deal to cut nuclear arms by 80%.

This is from Haaretz.

This is very good news. Actually this is precisely what is required of nuclear states who have signed the non-proliferation treaty and the US and others have been violating the terms for years without the media even pointing this out. Contrast this with the coverage of Iran's nuclear programme. Of course the Israeli nuclear programme is also rarely mentioned either but then Israel did not sign the non-proliferation treaty.



Report: Obama to offer Russia deal to cut nuclear arms by 80%
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
Tags: nuclear weapons, Iran
U.S. President Barack Obama plans to offer Russia a deal whereby both countries reduce their nuclear weapons stockpile by 80 percent each, The Times reported on Wednesday. "We are going to re-engage Russia in a more traditional, legally binding arms reduction process," an official from Obama's administration told The Times . "We are prepared to engage in a broader dialogue with the Russians over issues of concern to them," he added. "Nobody would be surprised if the number reduced to the 1,000 mark for the post-Start treaty."

Obama's vision is for a treaty which would slash the number of nuclear weapons in both countries' stockpiles to 1,000 each, according to The Times. The talks will be led by the State Department, and supervised by a soon-to-be created non-proliferation office, likely to be headed by former Clinton negotiator, Gary Samor. The deal would put into review former President George Bush's plan for a U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe and would be a catalyst for pressure on other nuclear-capable states to cut their stockpiles, The Times said.