The White House will host world leaders representing 47 countries at the Nuclear Security Summit April 12-13.
“The pursuit of peace and calm and cooperation among nations is the work of both leaders and peoples in the 21st century,” Obama said in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday.
Next week, world leaders will discuss the prevention of the spread of nuclear weapons, preventing the trafficking of these weapons on the black market and keeping them out of the hands of terrorist organizations.
The Washington, D.C., summit follows President Barack Obama’s signing of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty with Russia.
Under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the United States has agreed with Russia to begin decreasing nuclear arms by 30 percent. But the president said this was not enough.
“This is a well-crafted treaty that meets the interests of both countries; that meets the interests of the world in the United States and Russia reducing its nuclear arsenals and setting the stage for potentially further reductions in the future,” Obama said.
Obama and Medvedev sign the START nuclear nonproliferation treaty April 8. World leaders will gather in Washington April 12-13 to discuss nonproliferation among 47 nations.