Washington - US President Barack Obama took off for Russia
late Sunday on a trip that takes him to Italy for the G8 meetings on
Wednesday and a stop Saturday in Ghana.
In Moscow, Obama is seeking to 'reset' relations by finding
cooperation on a number of challenges, including confronting Iranian
and North Korean nuclear ambitions.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are to discuss
replacement of a nuclear arms-control agreement that expires in
December. Both leaders have expressed hope that they can move beyond
the strained ties of the past.
Senior officials on both sides told The New York Times on Friday
that Russia plans to announce it will grant permission for US troops
and weapons to be flown over its territory on the way to Afghanistan.
Until now, only rail transport carrying non lethal goods has been
allowed.
At Obama's first G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, the agenda
includes the global recession, global warming and the situations in
Iran and the Middle East.
Russia has been the only G8 country to acknowledge Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the clear victor in June's disputed
elections.
The G8 summit comes ahead of the larger Group of 20 nations
planning to meet in September in the US city of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, to discuss the global economic downturn. Obama has been
at odds with his European counterparts, who want to see more
regulation of US financial markets.
In Ghana, Obama plans outline of his Africa policy in a speech
during his first visit as president to the continent. Obama has in
years past visited Kenya, the homeland of his late father.
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