YOKOHAMA: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push hard to get the US congress to approve a new START weapons treaty with Russia and stressed the former Cold War foes were now cooperating closely on key issues.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also discussed a possible veto by Russian foe Georgia of Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organisation, which Obama has backed under his administration’s “reset” policy to repair US-Russia ties.
“I reiterated my commitment to get the START treaty done during the lame duck session and I communicated to Congress that it is a top priority,” Obama said after meeting Medvedev on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Yokohama.
Obama is racing to get the treaty approved before the new congress convenes in January, after his Democratic Party suffered major setbacks in this month’s midterm elections that will substantially shrink its senate majority.
Obama added that Russia was being an “excellent partner” on issues important to the United States. The START treaty and the advance in stalled WTO entry talks are seen in Russia as the biggest successes of the “reset” policy.
