Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Obama administration’s nuclear policy, as outlined in a 72-page report submitted to Congress Tuesday, signals to Iran and North Korea that their pursuit of nuclear weapons makes them more vulnerable — not less — to military confrontation with the United States.

Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review is a good beginning but not an end to eliminating the threat of nuclear terrorism and war.

President Obama has spoken eloquently about his vision of a world without nuclear weapons. It is a lofty goal that will not be achieved during his presidency — or for years after that. But in a very dangerous time, he is taking important steps to make the world safer and bolster this country’s credibility as it tries to constrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, North Korea and others.

President Obama was angry. He was on the phone with President Dmitri A. Medvedev last month to finalize a new arms control treaty with Russia, only to be confronted with new demands for concessions on missile defense. A deal that was supposed to be done was unraveling.

Following is a transcript of the remarks made on Friday by President Obama; Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary of state; Robert Gates, the defense secretary; and Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; in which details of a new arms control treaty with Russia were announced, as released by the White House.

The United States and Russia have agreed to a new nuclear arms treaty that will be signed April 8 in Prague, Czech Republic, President Obama announced Friday after speaking with his Russian counterpart.

President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed today to cut their nuclear arsenals by almost a third in the “most comprehensive” arms treaty in two decades between the former Cold War foes.

The arms control treaty being completed by the United States and Russia represents another step toward closing the books on the defining struggle of the final half of the 20th century. But it also marks the opening of a broader campaign to counter the emerging threats of the 21st century.

The United States faces no greater threat than the spread of nuclear weapons. That is why, last April in Prague, President Obama laid out a comprehensive agenda to reverse their spread, and to pursue the peace and security of a world without them.