Source: Russia Today
Following The International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, Alexei Arbatov and George Perkovich discussed the possible outcomes of President Barack Obama's first official visit to Russia as president. Focusing on the ongoing negotiations for a follow-on agreement to START, which is set to expire at the end of 2009, Perkovich said:
"I think there are some issues where presidential leadership is necessary to actually clarify or resolve some issues that have come up in the negotiations thus far. If the two presidents can agree then they can reinstruct negotiators on the basis of going forward. That would be the big breakthrough, if they can say there's been a meeting of the minds and agree on a clear path from July 8 to completion of the negotiations."