REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AND PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV AFTER MEETING

Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

5:35 P.M. CET

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Obviously our main concern in coming to Copenhagen was to try to move forward with an accord on the issue of climate change. But on the margins of this meeting we thought it was important to continue to build on the excellent relationship that our two governments have developed over the last several months.

Our main focus today was the START treaty — the new START treaty that we have been negotiating. We’ve been making excellent progress. We are quite close to an agreement. And I’m confident that it will be completed in a timely fashion. And I just want to thank President Medvedev for being a very effective partner in these negotiations.

And we wish him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV: (As translated.) For my part as an effective partner of President Obama, I will say all the same, but using different words, as the custom that we have in our diplomatic practice.

That’s true that we arrived in Copenhagen not to have this bilateral meeting, but to move forward all the whole range of climate issues, and in this respect our work is not over. But on the other hand, it would be unreasonable not to use this opportunity in order to — not to discuss what we’ve been doing for the recent days or the recent time in a very coordinated and persistent manner. And I would like to thank Mr. Obama and the U.S. negotiating team. I am talking about a new treaty on the reductions of strategic arms.

And our positions are very close and almost all the issues that we’ve been discussing for the last month are almost closed. And there are certain technical details which we can encounter many agreements which require further work. I hope that we will be able to do it in a quite brief period of time. The outcome of our efforts will reflect good and close spirit of our relationship that we have established with the new U.S. administration.

(Speaks in English.) And I would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you, everybody.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday the Western military bloc is seeking greater Russian assistance for international operations in Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters after talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, Rasmussen said he was inviting Russia to step up its assistance in Afghanistan, including by supplying helicopters, spare parts and fuel, and by training pilots.

What could possibly go wrong here? The last time the Russians stepped up “its assistance” in Afghanistan, the Afghan people went on to enjoy the fruits of Russian generosity and prosperity. NATO is right to underscore an essential continuity.

Rasmussen — seriously now — has rather uncritically embraced the Afghanistan war to date as NATO secretary-general, but this is a new plateau. He might need a quick history lesson before this goes forward.

OBAMA: On missile defense, we have agreed that we are going to continue to discuss this critical issue. That is part of the joint statements that we’ve signed. I also believe that it is entirely legitimate for our discussions to talk not only about offensive weapon systems but also defensive weapon systems.

Obama went on to clarify that the missile defense system in question was “designed to deal with an entirely different threat unrelated to the kinds of robust capabilities that Russia possesses.” This falls in line with Obama’s intent to “reset” relations with Russia by acknowledging the country’s viewpoint on issues that the Bush administration failed to discuss with Russia.

Medvedev seemed optimistic, remarking that Obama’s willingness even to open up discussion on the issue was a change from the previous administration’s tendency to make decisions without consulting Russia. “Our understanding is that these decisions do concern us and we will have to come to terms on these positions,” he stated, emphasizing continued consideration of “what configuration on the whole the global anti-ballistic missile defense could have.”

Talk of a “global anti-ballistic missile defense” system is indicative of the increased cooperation between the countries seen in other aspects of today’s talks. These included an opening of supply routes to Afghanistan, a joint commitment to help the Afghan government fight drug trafficking, a pledge to reduce strategic arms past the levels outlined in the expiring START treaty, and an agreement to enhance the security of nuclear facility and materials.