The new START Treaty contributes considerably to stable world peace, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a Prague press conference on Thursday, adding that the document opens a new page in Russo-US relations, The Voice of Russia reports. Under the pact, each side is allowed a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads and no more than 700 deli-very vehicles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear arms. Medvedev thanked his American counterpart Barack Obama for his readiness to reach a con-sensus on what Medvedev called a “big issue.” “Signing the new START Treaty is a historic event”, Medvedev maintained, warning Washington against beefing up its missile defense system, which, he said, poses a threat to Russia’s strategic forces. For his part, President Obama said that Moscow and Washington agreed to continue to discuss missile defense and exchange information on ways to tackle a set of common challenges. Separately, the two leaders centered on the Iranian nuc-lear program, blaming Tehran for its reluctance to cooperate more with the inter-national community. They added that the UN Security Council may soon start considering slapping new tougher sanctions on Iran.
