President Obama's Day Ahead in Prague

After traveling overnight to Prague, President Obama begins his day by immediately holding a trilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and host country Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Before signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or START, US and Russia leaders will hold a separate bilateral meeting. It is during this face-to-face meeting that President Obama is expected to push President Medvedev towards sanctions on Iran. Iran and Russia share a trade history and Russia has been reluctant to back sanctions based on that fact. Earlier in the week, Russia's pointman on Iran nuclear talks said he hoped "dialogue" would be the solution to Iran.

President Obama and President Medvedev will sign the new START Treaty and hold a joint press availability afterwards.  [foxlivestream] The trilateral group will have lunch together after the press conference. President Obama retires for some downtime in the afternoon before hosting a dinner with leaders from the following Eastern European countries - Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and host country Czech Republic. These countries are the new democracies and President Obama's hospitality will demonstrate that the U.S. has not downgraded the importance of their relationship. In short, President Obama needs to reassure Eastern European countries that he has not abandoned them during his negotiations with Russia. He will remain overnight in Prague.