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Obama 'to call for' US-Russia nuclear weapons cuts Obama calls for US-Russia nuclear weapons cuts in Berlin speech
(about 2 hours later)
US President Barack Obama is to use his public speech in Berlin to propose cuts of one-third in American and Russian nuclear arsenals, US officials say. US President Barack Obama has used his public speech in Berlin to propose cuts of one-third in American and Russian nuclear arsenals.
They say he will also call for reductions in the number of tactical warheads deployed in Europe. The president also called for reductions in the number of tactical warheads deployed in Europe.
He met Chancellor Angela Merkel, who criticised the broad scope of the US surveillance programme known as Prism. Earlier, he met Chancellor Angela Merkel, who criticised the broad scope of the US Prism surveillance programme.
Mr Obama's visit comes after G8 leaders backed calls for holding Syrian peace talks in Geneva "as soon as possible".Mr Obama's visit comes after G8 leaders backed calls for holding Syrian peace talks in Geneva "as soon as possible".
'Call to action'
This is Mr Obama's first visit to Berlin as American president.This is Mr Obama's first visit to Berlin as American president.
US officials say he will seek cuts in US and Russian nuclear arsenals of one-third from the levels agreed in the New Start treaty in 2010. His address to students and government officials at the Brandenburg Gate comes almost 50 years after John F Kennedy's celebrated "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
He said the Brandenburg Gate, which once divided East and West Germany, was a symbol that "no wall can stand against the yearnings for justice... that burns in the human heart".
As he began his speech he took off his jacket, telling the crowds who had been waiting in the 33C heat for several hours: "We can be a little more informal among friends."
Mr Obama used his speech to announce that he had determined the US was able to ensure the security of itself and its allies and maintain a credible deterrence by reducing its nuclear weapons by a third from the levels agreed in the New Start treaty in 2010.
Under New Start, each side is allowed a maximum of 1,550 warheads and no more than 700 deployed launchers.Under New Start, each side is allowed a maximum of 1,550 warheads and no more than 700 deployed launchers.
The new limit on delivery systems is less than half the ceiling of 1,600 specified in the original Start treaty from 1991.The new limit on delivery systems is less than half the ceiling of 1,600 specified in the original Start treaty from 1991.
Mr Obama also wants to reduce the number of tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe - a move Russia has resisted in the past. "We intend to work with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear posturing", he said, adding that the US would also work alongside Nato allies to seek "bold reductions" in the use of tactical weapons in Europe.
Such weapons are not covered by existing treaties. The US would also seek to forge a new international framework for the use of peaceful nuclear power, he said, and rejected the nuclearisation of countries like North Korea and Iran.
Mrs Merkel criticised US phone and internet surveillance programmes, saying: "We do see the need for gathering information, but there is a need for due diligence and proportionality." Shortly before Mr Obama spoke, the senior foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said other nuclear-armed countries would have also have to reduce their stockpiles for such a plan to work.
"The situation now is not like in the 1960s and 1970s when only the United States and the Soviet Union held talks on reducing nuclear arms," Yury Ushakov told a briefing in Moscow.
"Now we need to look more broadly... and increase the circle of participants in possible contacts on this matter."
'Proportionality'
In her morning meetings with the president, Mrs Merkel criticised US phone and internet surveillance programmes, saying: "We do see the need for gathering information, but there is a need for due diligence and proportionality."
The chancellor grew up in Communist East Germany, where police surveillance was widespread.The chancellor grew up in Communist East Germany, where police surveillance was widespread.
She acknowledged that the internet "enables enemies of a free liberal order to use and abuse and bring threats to all of us", but "an equitable balance must be struck".She acknowledged that the internet "enables enemies of a free liberal order to use and abuse and bring threats to all of us", but "an equitable balance must be struck".
Mr Obama said the monitoring applied within narrow limits to do with national security. It had detected 50 potential threats and saved many lives, he emphasised.Mr Obama said the monitoring applied within narrow limits to do with national security. It had detected 50 potential threats and saved many lives, he emphasised.
"This is not a situation where we simply go into the internet and begin searching any way we want," he told a news conference in Berlin."This is not a situation where we simply go into the internet and begin searching any way we want," he told a news conference in Berlin.
Speaking about the Syrian conflict, Mr Obama said the US was confident that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons during the 26-month-old conflict, but refused to spell out what aid might go the rebels.Speaking about the Syrian conflict, Mr Obama said the US was confident that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons during the 26-month-old conflict, but refused to spell out what aid might go the rebels.
"I cannot and will not comment on specifics on our programmes related to the Syrian opposition," he said, stressing his support for a political transition."I cannot and will not comment on specifics on our programmes related to the Syrian opposition," he said, stressing his support for a political transition.
Mr Obama's address to students and government officials at the Brandenburg Gate comes almost 50 years after John F Kennedy's celebrated "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
He is expected to make what US officials describe as "a call to action", for the West to engage in major global issues.
He is also likely to speak in detail about ways of promoting democracy and ending conflicts as well as tackling climate change and nuclear proliferation.
When Mr Obama was last in Berlin in 2008, he spoke to an estimated 200,000 people about America's "mistakes" and how the Afghan people needed "support to defeat the Taliban".
He may now take the opportunity to explain why he has ordered peace talks with the enemy America has fought for 10 years, says the BBC's North American editor Mark Mardell.
After the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland, President Obama described the planned Taliban talks as "a very early step" towards reconciliation in Afghanistan.