This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/world/middleeast/obama-nuclear-security-summit-iran.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Obama Rebukes Donald Trump’s Comments on Nuclear Weapons | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Obama on Friday questioned Donald J. Trump’s fitness for office, citing recent statements by the Republican presidential candidate suggesting less constraint on the use of nuclear weapons. “We don’t want somebody in the Oval Office who doesn’t recognize how important that is,” Mr. Obama said. | |
| Speaking to reporters at the end of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, Mr. Obama said Mr. Trump’s comments reflected someone who “doesn’t know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world in general.” | |
| In an interview with The New York Times last week, Mr. Trump said he would be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals rather than depend on the American nuclear umbrella for their defense against North Korea and China. | |
| The president said those comments by Mr. Trump came up on the sidelines of the summit. “Even in those countries that are used to a carnival atmosphere in their own politics want sobriety and clarity in U.S. elections,” he said. | |
| “Our alliance with Japan and the Republic of Korea,” the president added, “is one of the foundations, the cornerstone of our presence in the Asia-Pacific region. It has underwritten the peace and prosperity of that region.” | |
| Earlier Friday, Mr. Obama made the case that his marquee diplomatic accomplishment in nonproliferation — the nuclear deal with Iran — had “achieved a substantial success.” | |
| Because of restrictions that the deal imposed on Iran’s nuclear program, Mr. Obama said, it would now take the Iranians about a year to build a bomb — if it breached the deal — as opposed to two to three months before the diplomatic effort began in mid-2012. | Because of restrictions that the deal imposed on Iran’s nuclear program, Mr. Obama said, it would now take the Iranians about a year to build a bomb — if it breached the deal — as opposed to two to three months before the diplomatic effort began in mid-2012. |
| Speaking before a meeting of leaders from the major powers that negotiated with Iran, Mr. Obama listed accomplishments of the agreement: Iran, he said, had dismantled two-thirds of its installed centrifuges, shipped 98 percent of its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country and removed the plutonium reactor core from the nuclear plant at Arak, filling it in with concrete. | Speaking before a meeting of leaders from the major powers that negotiated with Iran, Mr. Obama listed accomplishments of the agreement: Iran, he said, had dismantled two-thirds of its installed centrifuges, shipped 98 percent of its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country and removed the plutonium reactor core from the nuclear plant at Arak, filling it in with concrete. |
| The president insisted that much of the trade embargo on Iran remained in place, countering critics who argue that the West had freed up tens of billions of dollars that Iran could use to finance proxy wars and terrorism throughout the Middle East. | The president insisted that much of the trade embargo on Iran remained in place, countering critics who argue that the West had freed up tens of billions of dollars that Iran could use to finance proxy wars and terrorism throughout the Middle East. |
| Mr. Obama said the United States would “vigorously enforce” sanctions against Iran for supporting terrorism, violating human rights and continuing its ballistic missile program. But he did not refer specifically to Iran’s recent tests of missiles, which the United States and its European allies have said were in defiance of a United Nations Security Council resolution. Those tests have prompted calls for new sanctions against Iran. | Mr. Obama said the United States would “vigorously enforce” sanctions against Iran for supporting terrorism, violating human rights and continuing its ballistic missile program. But he did not refer specifically to Iran’s recent tests of missiles, which the United States and its European allies have said were in defiance of a United Nations Security Council resolution. Those tests have prompted calls for new sanctions against Iran. |
| Russia has split with the United States on this issue, arguing that the tests did not violate the United Nations resolution because there was no evidence that the missiles were being equipped to carry nuclear warheads. Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, is the most prominent no-show at the Nuclear Security Summit, a biannual gathering conceived and championed by Mr. Obama. | Russia has split with the United States on this issue, arguing that the tests did not violate the United Nations resolution because there was no evidence that the missiles were being equipped to carry nuclear warheads. Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, is the most prominent no-show at the Nuclear Security Summit, a biannual gathering conceived and championed by Mr. Obama. |
| Mr. Obama conceded disagreements among the countries that negotiated with Iran. But he said the group agreed “that this deal has achieved a substantial success, and focused on the dangers of nuclear proliferation in an effective way.” | Mr. Obama conceded disagreements among the countries that negotiated with Iran. But he said the group agreed “that this deal has achieved a substantial success, and focused on the dangers of nuclear proliferation in an effective way.” |
| As the leaders gathered at Washington’s convention center, the White House released a series of technical announcements on nuclear safety: the removal of excess plutonium and highly-enriched uranium from Germany; the elimination of stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in Argentina and Indonesia; the reduction of these stockpiles in Poland, Kazakhstan and seven other countries; and an agreement with Japan to remove highly-enriched uranium and separated plutonium from plants there. | As the leaders gathered at Washington’s convention center, the White House released a series of technical announcements on nuclear safety: the removal of excess plutonium and highly-enriched uranium from Germany; the elimination of stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in Argentina and Indonesia; the reduction of these stockpiles in Poland, Kazakhstan and seven other countries; and an agreement with Japan to remove highly-enriched uranium and separated plutonium from plants there. |