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Obama tries to rally world to cope with downturn
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-01 21:01

 

Obama tries to rally world to cope with downturn

US President Barack Obama (R) speaks during a joint news conference with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, April 1, 2009. [Agencies]

Gibbs said the two countries want to reduce the number of nuclear warheads but the leaders have not settled on a specific goal.

"Both sides of the Atlantic understand that, as much as the constant cloud of nuclear warfare has receded, that the presence of these deadly weapons continues to be the gravest threat to humanity," Obama said during his news conference with Brown.

The discussion centers on a possible replacement of the dying 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limited the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. START expires Dec. 5.

Earlier Wednesday, Obama acknowledged strained relations between the two nations but says the time has come to emphasize areas where they can work together. He said the specter of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists continues to be the greatest threat against humanity.

Obama is meeting separately with Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao. Officials in both countries have called for a new global currency to end the dollar's dominance, although it's unlikely that the idea will gain immediate traction.

Obama's talks with Hu are sure to address Beijing's concerns about the safety of its position as Washington's biggest foreign creditor, with about $1 trillion in US government debt. For the US, there are fears that any Chinese flight away from those investments would erode the US ability to spend more on recession-fighting.

Both meetings are being held at the US ambassador's residence, with the news media only allowed into the room before the talks take place and without the ability to ask questions.

The G-20 meetings open with a working dinner Wednesday night and continue throughout Thursday.

Before the summit even opened, divisions emerged among nations' leaders.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has expressed dissatisfaction with how the summit has been shaping up and warned he would rather risk a public dispute than accept a vague consensus or a "false compromise."

Brown said he was confident Sarkozy would still be at the table when the dinner was complete.

In London, Obama is also meeting with Brown's main rival, David Cameron, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party. In the afternoon, the president and first lady Michelle Obama head to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.