Obama welcomes agreement by 65-nation Conference on Disarmament toward new arms control treaty

Obama cheers step toward new nuclear arms pact

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is welcoming an agreement by the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament to open the way to negotiate a new nuclear arms control treaty.

He says the decision signals a commitment to work together on what he calls a fundamental challenge. He’s also committing to work with other governments to help complete the treaty quickly.

Obama says such a treaty is an essential element of his vision for a world free of nuclear weapons.

The conference has been stalemated since it wrote the nuclear test ban treaty in 1996.