U.S. and Russia Begin Second Round of START Talks

In Geneva, Switzerland today, the United States and Russia began a three-day series of talks to continue negotiating the terms for renewing the soon-to-expire Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). START was agreed upon by both nations in 1991 in an effort to significantly reduce the nations' nuclear stockpiles and is set to expire on December 5th of this year.

While the two countries have suffered a strained relationship over the past several years, President Barack Obama said in his first press conference:

What I know is this: that if we see a nuclear arms race in a region as volatile as the Middle East, everybody will be in danger. And one of my goals is to prevent nuclear proliferation generally. I think that it's important for the United States, in concert with Russia, to lead the way on this....I've mentioned this in conversations with the Russian president, Mr. Medvedev, to let him know that it is important for us to restart the conversations about how we can start reducing our nuclear arsenals in an effective way.

Now, for the purpose of renewing this treaty, we need to wait and see if the United States and Russia can get past their respective hang-ups regarding North Korean nukes and the planned U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

TO BE CONTINUED...