Obama, 47, was sworn in as the 44th president of the U.S. on January 20 in Washington, becoming the country's first African-American head of state. Moscow saw his election as a potential to restore Russian-U.S. relations, which deteriorated under the previous administration.
"Obama surpassed Russia's expectations in some aspects during the first 100 days [in office]. He immediately suggested a reduction of nuclear arsenals and has already set up negotiation teams on a new strategic arms reduction treaty," Alexander Konovalov, the head of the Institute for Strategic Studies, told RIA Novosti.
The U.S. president outlined in April his vision for a nuclear-free world, saying the United States was committed to reducing its nuclear stockpiles and wanted to involve all nuclear countries in arms reduction.
Obama said the United States would take efforts to sign a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia until the end of 2009 and would urge other nuclear states to join it.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) signed between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1991 places a limit of 6,000 strategic or long-range nuclear warheads on each side. The treaty expires in December 2009.
According to another Russian analyst, president of the New Eurasia Foundation in Moscow Andrei Kortunov, Russia and the United States "have a real chance" to conclude a new treaty by the end of this year, and also actively cooperate in the sphere of nuclear nonproliferation, the fight against terrorism and the search for ways to deal with the current global economic crisis.
"The current team in Washington will be the best for Russia in the near future, and we must use the emerging potential [of bilateral relations] to the maximum," Kortunov said.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met for the first time before the April 2 G20 summit in London, after which they vowed "to move beyond Cold War mentalities and chart a fresh start."
In general, Russian analysts share the view that the new U.S. administration has developed a more constructive and flexible approach in its foreign policy, and clearly showed its willingness to adapt to current global challenges.
