McCain Aims to Work With Russia on Arms Control

Posted on May 27, 2008

AP photo / Jeff Chiu

Big man on campus: Sen. John McCain gives a talk about nuclear disarmament at Denver University on Tuesday.

John McCain may seem similar to President Bush in many ways, but the presumptive Republican nominee is apparently looking to draw some clear distinctions between himself and the outgoing president in regard to how he proposes to deal with tensions that have cropped up between the U.S. and Russia around the issue of nuclear disarmament.

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The New York Times:

“Russia and the United States are no longer mortal enemies,” Mr. McCain said in a speech that was interrupted at least four times by hecklers opposed to the Iraq war. “As our two countries possess the overwhelming majority of the world’s nuclear weapons, we have a special responsibility to reduce their number. I believe we should reduce our nuclear forces to the lowest level we judge necessary, and we should be prepared to enter into a new arms control agreement with Russia reflecting the nuclear reductions I will seek.”

In addition, Mr. McCain said, “we should be able to agree with Russia on binding verification measures based on those currently in effect under the Start Agreement, to enhance confidence and transparency.”

Like his Democratic competitors, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. McCain also called for a world free of nuclear weapons, and he cited as his model the standard bearer of the Republican party, former President Ronald Reagan.

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