After hours of intense bilateral meetings, the president of America needed to take a break. He went with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to Ra's Hell Burger joint. The leaders were welcomed by customers' cheers as they ventured to Ray's Hell Burger on Thursday, reports The Mail.
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.
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.'
Medvedev and Obama each ordered burgers but shared fries.
And Obama 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.
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.
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