Russia

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed Wednesday to open negotiations on a treaty that could slash their nuclear arsenals by a third, part of what they described as a step "to move beyond Cold War mentalities" in relations between Washington and Moscow. The agreement to undertake significant arms control talks emerged from the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, and included a promise by Obama to visit the Russian capital this summer to pursue the talks.

NATO and Russia on Saturday resumed formal cooperation on broad security threats but failed to bridge differences over Georgia in their first high-level talks since last year's war in the Caucasus region. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the two sides had recognized that it was time to press joint efforts against Afghan insurgents and drug trafficking, Somali piracy, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

On his four previous foreign trips, President Obama was greeted by cheering crowds and smiling world leaders, a carefully planned global introduction that emphasized listening, collaboration and cooperation. But as he prepares to go abroad again today, the White House is resetting its goals. Now the idea is to cast Obama not just as a likable, inspirational figure but also as a tough-minded world leader. His first stop will be a sure test.

At the first U.S.-Russian summit in seven years, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to agree. This is a far greater accomplishment than it might seem, given the sorry state of bilateral relations that the two leaders inherited and the high costs of discord. The presidents established a framework for reducing their nuclear arsenals and signed an agreement giving the U.S. rights to fly military supplies across Russia to Afghanistan.

When he arrived in Moscow for national security talks Monday, President Obama was tracing the footsteps of U.S. presidents dating back to Eisenhower. And, like many of his predecessors, Obama found out what difficult bargaining partners the Russians can make. The two sides took small steps toward scaling back their nuclear arsenals but left wide differences and lingering difficulties on other issues, such as Iran, missile defense, American military support to Russia's neighbors and human rights.

reporting from moscow On U.S. missile defense plans 'I know Russia opposes the planned configuration for missile defense in Europe. And my administration is reviewing these plans to enhance the security of America, Europe and the world. And I've made it clear that this system is directed at preventing a potential attack from Iran. It has nothing to do with Russia. In fact, I want to work together with Russia on a missile defense architecture that makes us all safer.

The massive cyber attack last week that security experts said was aimed at silencing a single blogger in the country of Georgia instead made him a global celebrity. Cyxymu, as he is known on his mostly anti-Russia blog, has been the subject of news reports worldwide ever since he was identified as the target of the attack that took down Twitter for several hours and crippled other popular online services. "I am not happy that [my] blogs were attacked," said the blogger, speaking on his cellphone from outside the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Georgia's artillery barrage against the breakaway republic of South Ossetia sparked last year's brief but bloody war with Russia, according to a highly anticipated investigation released today. But the independent report, commissioned by the European Union, also levels criticism at Russia, blaming Moscow for provoking the conflict and escalating the fighting beyond "the reasonable limits of defense." Even before the report was released, both governments were rushing to cherry pick and champion the criticisms of the other side -- and griping over depictions of their own transgressions.

Peruvian President Alan Garcia accused Chile of assaulting Peru's sovereignty, throwing his weight behind allegations that Chile paid a Peruvian military officer to spy. "These repulsive acts do not correspond to a democratic country and leave Chile in poor standing in the eyes of the world," Garcia told reporters at the presidential palace in Lima. Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez denied the accusation, saying his government conducted a meticulous review and ruled out involvement of any Chilean state institution.

European Union monitors deployed along Ukraine's natural gas pipelines, but Russia refused to restart supplies, saying Kiev voided the deal when it issued a "declaration" to accompany the document. The European Commission said the declaration could not alter the pact, and Ukraine said it just explained its position. Ukraine, whose gas was shut off by Russia in a price dispute, denies Moscow's charges that it is siphoning off gas intended for other countries.