Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday praised a U.S. decision to scale back plans to install an antimissile defense system in eastern Europe as a "constructive step", according to Reuters.
In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Medvedev urged other nuclear armed states to join efforts by Russia and the United States to reduce nuclear weapons stocks, and called for a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East.
"All countries of the (Middle East) region need to take an active stance on this issue and demonstrate their willingness to ensure a real progress in establishing a nuclear free zone," he said.