Kremlin summit
July 6, 2009
Apart from the nuclear arms reduction pact, which succeeds the START I agreement from the Soviet era, officials say the talks will concentrate on topics ranging from Afghanistan to trade.
Obama is to seek the Kremlin's consent to ship arms to NATO forces in Afghanistan through Russian territory and to create a joint government commission between Washington and Moscow to improve relations.
Business leaders travelling with Obama want to use the visit to boost trade and investment. In 2008, Russian trade with the United States was just $36 billion, roughly the same amount as with Poland.
During his visit, Obama will also meet other Russian figures, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, listen to the country's embattled democratic opposition, and make a speech to Russian students at a commencement ceremony.
"Reset" button not so easy to push
Medvedev, however, in an interview released on Sunday, said he would grant Obama's request for a full arms control treaty with Moscow only if he dropped unilateral plans for missile defense.
He said the two sides were still deeply divided over U.S. plans to set up the anti-missile system in central Europe, which he said would be a threat to Russian security.
This, as well as Russian resentment at NATO expansion into the former Soviet Union, could cast a shadow over the talks.
Obama also faces an awkward first meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia's most powerful politician, after publicly criticizing him last week.
Obama had said Putin still had "one foot mired in Cold War thinking," adding that he preferred dealing with President Medvedev, Putin's chosen successor.
Putin hit back, saying Russians "stood firmly on both feet - always looking to the future."
A poll released on the eve of Obama's arrival showed the depth of Russian distrust of the United States. The University of Maryland survey found 75 percent of Russians believed the United States abused its greater power.
Only two percent showed "much confidence" that Obama would do the right thing in world affairs.
glb/dpa/AP
Editor: Michael Lawton