Obama in Moscow for Nuke Talks

Barack Obama arrived in Moscow today, for a trip intended to “reset” relations that have been frosty since the Georgia conflict, the New York Times reports. The US president laid a wreath at Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, before meeting Dmitry Medvedev for negotiations. Obama’s main goal is to reach an agreement on reducing nuclear stockpiles, but he’ll also touch on Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program, and other issues.

Medvedev said this weekend that he was “moderately optimistic” about the visit. But he’s made it known that he’s unlikely to agree to a disarmament plan until the US scraps its plan to put a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. “These topics are interrelated, and for understandable reasons,” he said. “While the previous administration of the United States took a very ‘hard-headed’ position on this issue, the current administration is ready to discuss this topic.” (More Russia stories.)