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| World Leaders Meet With Obama to Curb Nuclear Threat | |
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| WASHINGTON — Leaders from more than 50 countries gathered here on Thursday at the behest of President Obama to try to reduce the threat from nuclear weapons. But the Nuclear Security Summit, the fourth and possibly last of these gatherings, opened with a palpably subdued atmosphere. | WASHINGTON — Leaders from more than 50 countries gathered here on Thursday at the behest of President Obama to try to reduce the threat from nuclear weapons. But the Nuclear Security Summit, the fourth and possibly last of these gatherings, opened with a palpably subdued atmosphere. |
| President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is boycotting the meeting, which makes major breakthroughs on global security unlikely, given his country’s vast nuclear stockpile. And with Mr. Obama — who conceived and championed these meetings — leaving office next year, several experts said it was unlikely that a Nuclear Security Summit would even happen again. | President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is boycotting the meeting, which makes major breakthroughs on global security unlikely, given his country’s vast nuclear stockpile. And with Mr. Obama — who conceived and championed these meetings — leaving office next year, several experts said it was unlikely that a Nuclear Security Summit would even happen again. |
| Mr. Obama is expected to celebrate some achievements, including 102 nations signing an amendment to a 1987 treaty that stiffens standards for the physical protection of nuclear materials. But analysts said major security risks remained, not least the large stockpiles of weapons-grade nuclear fuel held in military facilities around the world. | |
| The most symbolic news on the first morning of the meeting came on another front. The White House announced that the United States and China would sign the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change on April 22, the first day on which the United Nations accord will be opened for government signatures. Officials cast that as a statement of joint resolve by the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. | |
| Binding global agreements on nuclear security remain elusive, so the meeting will most likely to focus on regional threats. The terrorist attack in Belgium last week has cast a shadow over the gathering, particularly after reports that fighters for the Islamic State were seeking to penetrate a nuclear facility to obtain material for a so-called radioactive dirty bomb. | |
| Mr. Obama has added a session to discuss the status of the military campaign against the Islamic State, in which the administration continues to claim gains. In the afternoon, he will meet with President François Hollande of France — the Islamic State killed more than 125 people in Paris last November. It is Mr. Obama’s only planned one-on-one meeting with a leader, aside from one with President Xi Jinping of China. | |
| The president’s refusal to meet individually with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has roiled the diplomatic waters, though the White House on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility that the two men might meet briefly on the margins of the summit. | The president’s refusal to meet individually with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has roiled the diplomatic waters, though the White House on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility that the two men might meet briefly on the margins of the summit. |
| Mr. Putin’s snub was not unexpected, given the rift between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s military aggression in Syria and Ukraine. But the White House pointed out that Russia has nevertheless cooperated on nuclear issues, not least its role in the multi-party talks with Iran over curbing its nuclear program. (Iran was not invited to attend the summit.) | Mr. Putin’s snub was not unexpected, given the rift between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s military aggression in Syria and Ukraine. But the White House pointed out that Russia has nevertheless cooperated on nuclear issues, not least its role in the multi-party talks with Iran over curbing its nuclear program. (Iran was not invited to attend the summit.) |
| Russia is “going to miss out on an opportunity to coordinate with the rest of the international community on these important issues,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Wednesday. | Russia is “going to miss out on an opportunity to coordinate with the rest of the international community on these important issues,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Wednesday. |
| “I do think that it serves to further illustrate the degree to which Russia is isolated from the rest of the international community – that for whatever reason, they’ve chosen not to engage in this conversation,” Mr. Earnest said. | “I do think that it serves to further illustrate the degree to which Russia is isolated from the rest of the international community – that for whatever reason, they’ve chosen not to engage in this conversation,” Mr. Earnest said. |
| China, on the other hand, is getting V.I.P. treatment from Mr. Obama. He and Mr. Xi are expected to discuss a range of issues, including the nuclear threat from North Korea, which has tested a nuclear device and fired ballistic missiles in recent months. But the climate announcement was the centerpiece. | |
| “We, our two countries, with this joint statement, are taking an important step forward by encouraging the entry into force of this agreement,” Brian Deese, Mr. Obama’s senior climate change adviser, told reporters. | |
| The announcement is intended to spur other countries to sign the deal, after doubts were raised as to when and whether the United States could meet its own obligations under the agreement. In February, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Obama administration’s effort to combat global warming by regulating greenhouse-gas pollution from power plants. | |
| “We have and will continue to demonstrate that the U.S. has the capacity and tools to meet the commitment,” Mr. Deese said. “We feel very confident that the Clean Power Plan is on solid legal foundation.” | |
| North Korea will also be center-stage at a three-way meeting this morning between Mr. Obama, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. | |
| The Nuclear Security Summit grew out of a landmark speech given by Mr. Obama in Prague in 2009, in which he set a goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Leaders first convened in Washington in 2010, and again in South Korea in 2012 and the Netherlands in 2014. | The Nuclear Security Summit grew out of a landmark speech given by Mr. Obama in Prague in 2009, in which he set a goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Leaders first convened in Washington in 2010, and again in South Korea in 2012 and the Netherlands in 2014. |
| On Thursday evening, as the leaders gather for a dinner at the White House, 102 nations will have ratified an amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, enough to bring into force changes that were first proposed during the Bush administration. | |
| The original international agreement on protecting the material dates to 1987, but it has long been considered weak. The amendment, proposed after the Sept. 11 attacks triggered a new focus on the chances that terrorist groups could obtain nuclear material, specify minimum requirements for physical protection of civilian nuclear stocks, and for securing them when they are transported. | |
| But when Mr. Obama departs the scene in January, it is not clear who will keep the momentum going. While the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, supports Mr. Obama’s policies against nuclear proliferation, she has evinced little of his fervor for a nuclear-free world. | But when Mr. Obama departs the scene in January, it is not clear who will keep the momentum going. While the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, supports Mr. Obama’s policies against nuclear proliferation, she has evinced little of his fervor for a nuclear-free world. |
| Meanwhile, the Republican front-runner, Donald J. Trump, proposed last week that Japan and South Korea build their own nuclear weapons to deter the threat from North Korea – a message that flatly contradicts the nonproliferation agenda of this gathering. | Meanwhile, the Republican front-runner, Donald J. Trump, proposed last week that Japan and South Korea build their own nuclear weapons to deter the threat from North Korea – a message that flatly contradicts the nonproliferation agenda of this gathering. |
| “It’s fair to say that this is an accomplishment of Obama,” Sharon Squassoni, the director of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on Tuesday. But she added, “It may not be the one he sort of ardently wished for the most.” | “It’s fair to say that this is an accomplishment of Obama,” Sharon Squassoni, the director of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on Tuesday. But she added, “It may not be the one he sort of ardently wished for the most.” |