After hours of intense bilateral meetings, even the president of America needs to take a break. And where best to relax with another of the world’s most powerful men than a burger joint? Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were welcomed by customers' cheers as they ventured to Ray’s Hell Burger today.
Pass the ketchup: Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama eat their hamburgers during lunch at Ray's Hell Burger
Shall we go large? Medvedev and Obama each order burgers but share fries
Travelling by motorcade, they stopped for food at the diner in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia, where Obama ate last year with Vice President Joe Biden.
During their meal, Obama and Medvedev sat at a table with their interpreters, sharing a conversation through them. The U.S. president had a cheeseburger with cheddar, onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles. His Russian counterpart had a cheeseburger with cheddar, onion, jalapenos and mushrooms. Obama drank ice tea, Medvedev sipped a Coke. And when they were asked, ‘Do you want fries with that?’ they said yes – to share.
Both leaders were wearing long-sleeved white shirts on what was a hot summer day.
Other customers were seen enjoying their meals and largely leaving the presidents alone.
With jackets casually slung over their shoulders, President Obama and President Medvedev stroll through Lafayette Park in Washington. Ahead of them a secret service agent and behind assorted officials
As I was saying ... Obama and Medvedev chat as they are driven to the burger bar
Earlier in the day, Obama had joked that Twitter accounts might eliminate the need for dedicated phone lines between Russian and U.S. leaders. In a lighthearted moment, he said that both he and Medvedev use the popular social networking program, adding: ‘We may be able to finally throw away those red phones’ that were designed to allow immediate contact between the Kremlin and the White House during the Cold War. Obama made the remarks at the start of a joint news conference with Medvedev at the White House.
After they returned from lunch, the talks continued. At the end of the day, Obama declared that the two presidents had ‘succeeded in resetting’ the relationship between the former Cold War adversaries that had dipped to a dangerous low in recent years. Obama directly acknowledged differences in some areas, such as Moscow's tensions with neighboring Georgia, but said: ‘We addressed those differences candidly.’ And he announced that the U.S. and Russia had agreed to expand cooperation on intelligence and the counter-terror fight and worked on strengthening economic ties between the nations.
Obama gave Russia perhaps the biggest gift it could have wanted from the meetings: an unqualified, hearty plug for Moscow's ascension to the World Trade Organization.
Pucker up: Michelle Obama and Dmitry Medvedev's wife, Svetlana, kiss each other as they visit the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington
Russia has long wanted membership but U.S. support in the past has come with conditions.
‘Russia belongs in the WTO,’ Obama said as the two leaders stood side-by-side in the East Room after several hours of meetings.
The leaders faced questions about the U.S.-led Afghanistan war, and Obama promised that the U.S. will ‘not miss a beat’ because of the change in military command that he ordered on yesterday. Obama accepted General Stanley McChrystal's resignation and replaced him with his direct boss, General David Petraeus. Medvedev seemed reluctant to wade into the topic, recalling the ultimately disastrous Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. ‘I try not to give pieces of advice that cannot be fulfilled,’ Medvedev said. ‘This is a very hard topic, a very difficult one.’
Yet he said that Russia supports the U.S. effort if it can result in Afghanistan emerging from extreme poverty and dysfunction to have ‘effective state and a modern economy’.
He added: ‘This is the path to guarantee that the gravest scenarios of the last time will not repeat.’ Obama said the two presidents had also agreed to coordinate on humanitarian aid for Kyrgyzstan, wracked by turmoil in the wake of the president's ouster. Kyrgyzstan's president was driven from power in April amid corruption allegations, sparking violence that has left about 2,000 people dead and 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks.
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