[credit: Steve Sack]
Wackydoodle asks: Does that bird have an invitation?
On Sunday the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev released a draft treaty for European security. Mr. Medvedev expressed the belief that a treaty is necessary to dispel lingering Cold War mentality, and put peace and stability primarily in the hands of the United Nations Security Counsel where the principle of undivided security can be implemented with an established mechanism. The President began working on the idea of a European treaty after the border conflict with Georgia, which he believes could have escalated into a large scale war. Western reactions to his circulated draft were predictably cool. The Secretary General of the western military alliance, NATO, said that there will be a response to the Russian president's suggestions.
A related development was the expiration of the START-1 agreement at midnight today without a replacement treaty for further reductions in nuclear arsenals. Negotiations in Switzerland between Russia and the US are hung up on verification details. However, both presidents pledged to keep working toward an agreement in a joint statement released by the Kremlin. The new goal is for an agreement by the end of this year.