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AFP/Reuters- US President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on Russia to agree strategic nuclear weapons cuts of up to a third and to also rein in strategic atomic arms.
In a keynote speech in Berlin, Obama also said he would lead two new Nuclear Security summits in his second term.
These are steps we can take to create a world of peace with justice, Obama said, addressing thousands at the citys iconic Brandenburg Gate.
Under the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiated with Moscow during Obamas first term, the two former Cold War foes cut strategic nuclear weapons stocks to the 1,550 level. A one-third cut in the arsenals would take them to the 1,000 weapons mark.
Russia has previously resisted cuts to the number of tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Europe, and President Vladimir Putin said ahead of Obamas speech that Russia will not allow an imbalance in strategic nuclear deterrence.
We cannot allow the balance of the system of strategic deterrence to be disturbed or the effectiveness of our nuclear force to be decreased, Putin was quoted by Russian agencies as saying.
A top Kremlin aide also said Russia wanted other states to commit to nuclear cuts. Obama has made cutting nuclear weapons stocks a centrepiece of his political legacy and is in theory committed to eradicating them all together.
Barack Obama said on Wednesday he still wanted to close Guantanamo Bay prison but said the plan had been tougher to achieve than he had hoped due to resistance from Congress.
We cannot have a permanent outpost in which they are being held even as we are ending a war in Afghanistan that triggered the capture of some of these detainees in the first place, Obama said at a joint news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
We must not be so driven by fear that we change the fabric of society in ways we dont intend and we do not want for the future. I think closing Guantanamo is an example of us getting out of that perpetual war mentality, Obama said.
Obama has refused to publicly specify exactly how Washington will increase aid to the Syrian opposition, after his government said it would offer military support for the first time after determining President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons.
President Obama defended US Internet and phone surveillance programmes which sparked alarm in Europe, saying American spies were not rifling through the emails of German and French citizens. He insisted that the programmes run by the super secret US eavesdropping service the National Security Agency (NSA) were legal and limited and were a vital tool in the fight against global terrorism.
This is not a situation where we are rifling through, you know, the ordinary emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else, Obama said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama argued that lives have been saved because of the use of the surveillance system, including in Germany, where memories of communist Stasi secret police eavesdropping still linger. We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted - not just in the United States, but in countries around the world, including Germany, he told a joint news conference with Merkel.
Obama said a balance must be struck between ensuring the security of citizens and protecting their privacy.
He offered a long explanation to Germans about the controversial programmes, which he said involved sweeping up data on phone and Internet traffic, but not delving into the specific content of the calls. Only if there are leads related to terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, would US agents ask a special court to allow them to look deeper into the records, he said.
Merkel told reporters that the Internet was new territory for everyone and offered new possibilities to be abused by enemies and opponents but urged the need for proportionality.
Obama also pledged that the United States will do more to tackle the threat of climate change and said the world must do likewise before it is too late.
Our generation must move towards a global compact to confront a changing climate before it is too late, that is our job, that is our task, Obama said in a speech in Berlin.
Speaking on a blistering hot day at Brandenburg Gate, Obama said that peace with justice means refusing to condemn our children to a harsher, less hospitable planet.
He said Germany, which is fast building up solar, wind and other renewable energies, and Europe, had led in efforts to battle a warming planet, melting ice caps and rising seas.
Obama urges Russia to cut N-arms
In a keynote speech in Berlin, Obama also said he would lead two new Nuclear Security summits in his second term.
These are steps we can take to create a world of peace with justice, Obama said, addressing thousands at the citys iconic Brandenburg Gate.
Under the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiated with Moscow during Obamas first term, the two former Cold War foes cut strategic nuclear weapons stocks to the 1,550 level. A one-third cut in the arsenals would take them to the 1,000 weapons mark.
Russia has previously resisted cuts to the number of tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Europe, and President Vladimir Putin said ahead of Obamas speech that Russia will not allow an imbalance in strategic nuclear deterrence.
We cannot allow the balance of the system of strategic deterrence to be disturbed or the effectiveness of our nuclear force to be decreased, Putin was quoted by Russian agencies as saying.
A top Kremlin aide also said Russia wanted other states to commit to nuclear cuts. Obama has made cutting nuclear weapons stocks a centrepiece of his political legacy and is in theory committed to eradicating them all together.
Barack Obama said on Wednesday he still wanted to close Guantanamo Bay prison but said the plan had been tougher to achieve than he had hoped due to resistance from Congress.
We cannot have a permanent outpost in which they are being held even as we are ending a war in Afghanistan that triggered the capture of some of these detainees in the first place, Obama said at a joint news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
We must not be so driven by fear that we change the fabric of society in ways we dont intend and we do not want for the future. I think closing Guantanamo is an example of us getting out of that perpetual war mentality, Obama said.
Obama has refused to publicly specify exactly how Washington will increase aid to the Syrian opposition, after his government said it would offer military support for the first time after determining President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons.
President Obama defended US Internet and phone surveillance programmes which sparked alarm in Europe, saying American spies were not rifling through the emails of German and French citizens. He insisted that the programmes run by the super secret US eavesdropping service the National Security Agency (NSA) were legal and limited and were a vital tool in the fight against global terrorism.
This is not a situation where we are rifling through, you know, the ordinary emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else, Obama said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama argued that lives have been saved because of the use of the surveillance system, including in Germany, where memories of communist Stasi secret police eavesdropping still linger. We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted - not just in the United States, but in countries around the world, including Germany, he told a joint news conference with Merkel.
Obama said a balance must be struck between ensuring the security of citizens and protecting their privacy.
He offered a long explanation to Germans about the controversial programmes, which he said involved sweeping up data on phone and Internet traffic, but not delving into the specific content of the calls. Only if there are leads related to terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, would US agents ask a special court to allow them to look deeper into the records, he said.
Merkel told reporters that the Internet was new territory for everyone and offered new possibilities to be abused by enemies and opponents but urged the need for proportionality.
Obama also pledged that the United States will do more to tackle the threat of climate change and said the world must do likewise before it is too late.
Our generation must move towards a global compact to confront a changing climate before it is too late, that is our job, that is our task, Obama said in a speech in Berlin.
Speaking on a blistering hot day at Brandenburg Gate, Obama said that peace with justice means refusing to condemn our children to a harsher, less hospitable planet.
He said Germany, which is fast building up solar, wind and other renewable energies, and Europe, had led in efforts to battle a warming planet, melting ice caps and rising seas.
Obama urges Russia to cut N-arms
