Meeting of US and Russian presidents is walk in the park
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2010, Saturday
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THE meeting of the presidents of the United States and Russia was most unusual -- they ate hamburgers and shared french fries for lunch, told jokes and walked in the park. No summit, no sanctions, no weapons treaty. They did strike a deal on chicken exports.
The camaraderie on Thursday between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on intentional display. They met not about nuclear weapons. Obama's first time hosting Medvedev at the White House probably will be remembered most for the extent to which they got along like buddies.
It was a metaphor for two countries that were once at risk of Cold War annihilation, and just two years ago were back to animosity.
And for Obama, on an oppressively hot day, in the midst of a most difficult week, it amounted to a surprising chance to relax.
The buzz around the White House centered much more on the presidents' unexpected jaunt for cheeseburgers to Ray's Hell Burger in Virginia and less about the many matters they discussed.
Even Obama acknowledged the topics seemed a bit foreign.
"You know, sometimes it's odd when you're sitting in historic meetings with your Russian counterpart to spend time talking about chicken," Obama conceded in describing an agreement to export US poultry products to Russia.
Yet he said it was, in fact, a multibillion-dollar matter and a sign of something even greater: the ability of the United States and Russia to get beyond nuclear security, one of the areas in which both sides have made concrete progress in recent months. Now they can talk more about trade, technology, space and sports.
The smiling Obama was in contrast to a day earlier, when he was forced to sack the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for a magazine story in which the military leader and his aides had mocked and ripped administration leaders.
"We may be able to finally throw away those red phones that have been sitting around for so long," Obama said, evoking the symbol of scary US-Russia relations.
Upon questions from reporters, Obama said there will be no more firings in the chain of command over Afghanistan, although he will be sternly monitoring his team.
The camaraderie on Thursday between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on intentional display. They met not about nuclear weapons. Obama's first time hosting Medvedev at the White House probably will be remembered most for the extent to which they got along like buddies.
It was a metaphor for two countries that were once at risk of Cold War annihilation, and just two years ago were back to animosity.
And for Obama, on an oppressively hot day, in the midst of a most difficult week, it amounted to a surprising chance to relax.
The buzz around the White House centered much more on the presidents' unexpected jaunt for cheeseburgers to Ray's Hell Burger in Virginia and less about the many matters they discussed.
Even Obama acknowledged the topics seemed a bit foreign.
"You know, sometimes it's odd when you're sitting in historic meetings with your Russian counterpart to spend time talking about chicken," Obama conceded in describing an agreement to export US poultry products to Russia.
Yet he said it was, in fact, a multibillion-dollar matter and a sign of something even greater: the ability of the United States and Russia to get beyond nuclear security, one of the areas in which both sides have made concrete progress in recent months. Now they can talk more about trade, technology, space and sports.
The smiling Obama was in contrast to a day earlier, when he was forced to sack the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for a magazine story in which the military leader and his aides had mocked and ripped administration leaders.
"We may be able to finally throw away those red phones that have been sitting around for so long," Obama said, evoking the symbol of scary US-Russia relations.
Upon questions from reporters, Obama said there will be no more firings in the chain of command over Afghanistan, although he will be sternly monitoring his team.
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