Washington, July 3: US President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the Cold War is over when the US leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.
Days before he departs for Russia, Mr Obama said on Thursday that Mr Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation as its nominal Prime Minister. "I think that it’s important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to US-Russian relations is outdated," he said. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
Meanwhile, Mr Putin hit back at a claim by Mr Obama that he has one foot in the past, saying that he was "standing firmly on both legs," Interfax reported. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr Obama discussed a wide range of topics: The President said he could see abandoning his own proposal to indefinitely hold some terror detainees —"it gives me great pause" — and that he would not be comfortable ordering such a disposition for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners without congressional action.
In light of recent Supreme Court cases dealing with highly charged questions about the nation’s racial progress, Mr Obama said the high court was "moving the ball" away from affirmative action. Yet he also noted that the justices had not foreclosed the continued use of racial preferences in hiring and college admissions, which he said he supports in some circumstances.
In any case, he said affirmative action is neither the panacea — nor the problem — that it’s often made out to be. With most experts in agreement that there’s a good chance Iran could have a usable nuclear bomb sometime during his presidency, Mr Obama said, "I’m not reconciled with that."
—AP,AFP
