国际英语新闻：U.S., Russia finalize new nuclear disarmament treaty

At the special press conference, President Obama called the treaty as "the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades," saying it will advance the mutual interests between the United States and Russia, and the security and prosperity of the wider world.

In a public speech on April 5, 2009 in Prague, Obama announced his administration was committed to a nuclear-free world, and that U.S. and Russian governments agreed to kick off negotiations over an more ambitious arms control deal to replace the START, which expired on December 5 2009.

Both Obama and Medvedev consider the U.S.-Russian arms control process as a vital step to boost mutual strategic trust, or to " reset" the relationship between the two countries, and to ensure other countries to work with them together for the nuclear-free world.

"With this agreement, the United States and Russia -- the two largest nuclear powers in the world -- also send a clear signal that we intend to lead. By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities," said Obama.

Experts here said that the new treaty could offer the Obama administration "morality and justice" to push other countries, including Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to disarm under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty framework.

Stephen Sestanovich, senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that the administration wants the new treaty to establish their "bona fides" at two upcoming multilateral forums: the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April, and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York in May.

At the press conference with President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the new START has demonstrated common commitment by Washington and Moscow to making progress toward disarmament under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

"One of our top priorities is to strengthen the global non- proliferation regime and keep nuclear materials out of the wrong hands," she said.