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US, Russia agree to sharp new cuts in nuclear arms
Climaxing months of hard negotiations, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Friday to sharp cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both nations in the most comprehensive arms control treaty in two decades. "We have turned words into action," Obama declared.
Obama said the pact, to be signed April 8 in Prague, was part of his effort to "reset" relations with Russia and a step toward "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."
The agreement would require both sides to reduce their arsenals of long-range nuclear weapons by about a third, from 2,200 now to 1,550 each. The pact, replacing and expanding the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, which expired in December, was a significant gesture toward improved U.S.-Russian relations that have been badly frayed.