In Berlin, Obama Calls for Nuclear Disarmament and Moscow Receives Him Coldly

On Wednesday, American President Barack Obama called for a big reduction in nuclear weapons in order to build a world of “peace and justice.” It was during his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital, Berlin, which was a symbol of division during the Cold War. However, Moscow rushed to disapprove of the American president’s proposal.

In a reference to the famous speech that his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, delivered 50 years before on June 26, 1963 in the German capital, which was divided into two regions, Obama reckoned that the end of the Cold War did not put an end to the struggle for a better world. He said that Kennedy’s phrase, which called for “peace and justice,” applied to every conflict. He added, “No wall can stand against the yearning of justice, the yearnings for freedom, the yearnings for peace” and that “the wall belongs to history. But we have history to make as well.” There are numerous contemporary challenges, most notably extremism, famine, poverty, climate change and nuclear proliferation.

According to the latest records, Obama said, “We can ensure the security of America and our allies, and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent, while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one-third.” He invited Moscow to negotiations about disarmament, adding, “And I intend to seek negotiated cuts with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures.”

Russia hastened to respond through Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who announced that his country cannot take these proposals seriously. Rogozin, who is charged with the affairs of the Russian military-industrial complex, questioned, “How can we study the idea of reducing nuclear arsenals seriously when the United States is developing its power to intercept these strategic arsenals?” Kremlin Advisor Yuri Ushakov announced that Russia was informed of Obama’s proposal to continue nuclear disarmament, but it holds that the process should include other countries that possess nuclear weapons as well.

On Wednesday, during a meeting about strategic weapons in St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia cannot allow a fault in the balance of strategic deterrence systems and a decrease in the effectiveness of its nuclear forces. He stressed that establishing a system of air and space defense will remain one of the priorities of Russian military production. Putin clarified that air and space defense systems “guarantee the security of our troops through strategic deterrence and protecting the country’s territory.” He noted that 3.4 trillion rubles (80 billion euro) will be dedicated to these goals by the year 2020 in the context of an extensive program to re-arm the country.

After negotiations with Moscow, Obama wants to make the issue of nuclear disarmament a basic point in his political agenda in accordance with the New START Treaty for arms reduction from his first term. The two former aggressors in the Cold War agreed to reduce their stockpiles to 1,550 nuclear warheads.

Thus, Obama promised that the United States will make a greater effort to combat climate change, and he indicated that the care for the planet and the future of the children is our “moral obligation.” But his speech, which focused on Western values and the need for action to create a better world, did not have the same echo as then-candidate Obama’s 2008 speech, which he gave in Berlin before 200,000 people.

Obama took off his jacket because of the extreme heat, and he called on the audience, whose numbers reached more than 4,000 people, to do like he did, saying, “We can be a little more informal among friends.”