President Barack Obama In Prague Full Speech Video

AP First Person: Obama in Prague

President Obama set out his vision for a world free of nuclear weapons today, promising to push all states with atomic capabilities to reduce their arsenals.

In an open-air speech in front of a crowd estimated at more than 20,000 in Prague, the US President said that if the nuclear threat from Iran were eliminated, the driving force for building anti-missile defences would be removed.

In the final stage of a one-week trip marking his presidential debut on the world stage, Mr Obama committed himself to reducing the US nuclear arsenal, bringing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty into force and seeking tough penalties for countries that broke the rules on non-proliferation.

“The United States will take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons,” he told a cheering crowd.

He said that North Korea had broken the rules with a rocket launch earlier today and called on Pyongyang to abandon its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

North Korea said the launch was intended purely to put a satellite in orbit. Its action will be discussed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later today.

The Czech Republic is one of two sites in eastern Europe for a planned US missile shield that has angered Russia. Washington says the shield is necessary to counter threats from what it calls rogue states such as Iran.

“As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with the missile system,” Mr Obama said. “If the Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for security, and the driving force for missile construction in Europe will be removed.”

Thousands of Czechs and foreign tourists crowded into Hradcanske Square outside the medieval Prague Castle to hear Mr Obama speak.

Aides said that Mr Obama hoped that calling for a nuclear-free world would lend credibility to Washington’s efforts to resolve atomic disputes with countries such as Iran and North Korea. [TIMES UK]

DISCLAIMER: This posting was submitted by a user of the site not from The Insider editorial staff. All users have acknowledged and agreed that the submission of their story and its contents is in compliance with our Terms of Use.