U.S., Russia agree on nuclear arms reduction treaty

Reporting from Washington — 

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached final agreement Friday on a nuclear arms treaty that would cut the nuclear arsenals of the onetime rivals to the lowest levels since the 1960s.

With a morning phone call, the two leaders settled the final details of an eight-month negotiation, and they are to meet April 8 in Prague, Czech Republic, to sign the pact, which replaces the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991.

Announcing the accord at the White House, Obama acknowledged that the talks, which were slowed by differences over the sensitive issues of verification and missile defense, were tough.

“It took patience, it took perseverance,” Obama said. “But we never gave up.”

The agreement provides Obama with a tangible foreign policy achievement on the heels of passage of healthcare legislation, a top domestic priority.

The treaty also represents a step forward in the U.S. effort to improve relations with Russia. And by demonstrating America’s willingness to cut its own arsenal, it provides momentum for Obama’s broader effort to scale back the worldwide nuclear stockpile.

As part of that campaign, Obama is to host leaders of dozens of countries at a nuclear summit in Washington the week after he meets Medvedev in Prague. In May, world leaders are to gather again, in New York, to review the 40-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The White House hopes the U.S.-Russian treaty will open the way to a series of other arms control agreements and initiatives.

The treaty would reduce the ceiling on deployed strategic nuclear warheads by about 30%, from 2,200 to 1,500 on each side. The maximum number of launchers -- missiles, submarines and bombers that deliver the warheads -- would be cut from 1,600 to 800.

White House officials said they were confident the Senate would ratify the treaty later this year. Yet some uncertainty remains.

The treaty needs 67 votes for ratification, meaning that a handful of Republicans would need to join the 57 Democrats and two Democratic-leaning independents in backing it. However, the congressional calendar will be crowded for the rest of the year. If the pact is not approved before the midterm congressional elections in November, it might face a Senate with more GOP members next year.

A key stumbling block during treaty negotiations was the U.S. missile defense program. Moscow, fearing the program could someday upset the strategic balance, opposed plans for a U.S. system in Eastern Europe.

In a statement issued along with the agreement, Russia said it had the right to withdraw from the treaty if it considered a U.S. missile defense system a threat. A U.S. statement said the system is intended for threats from countries other than Russia and added that Washington accepts no limits on missile defense efforts.

Obama last year canceled plans to build missile bases and radar installations in the Czech Republic and Poland, saying ship-based missile interceptors could protect against Iran and North Korea. But in Moscow on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Kremlin concerns about U.S. plans.

For Russia, cutting the nuclear stockpile is a delicate and serious move. With a crumbling conventional military that has never recovered from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow depends on its nuclear arms to hang on to international importance and regional military superiority.

paul.r ichter@latimes.com

Times staff writer Megan K. Stack in Moscow contributed to this report.