Global General
US, Russia on brink of arms reduction treaty
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-20 03:08
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BARVIKHA, Russia - The United States and Russia have resolved all major issues in talks on a new arms control pact and are on the brink of an agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
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 U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (R) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meet at the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, March 19, 2010. Russia on Friday said that Iran was letting the opportunity for dialogue with the international community slip away and warned that the Islamic Republic could face new sanctions. [Photo/Agencies] |
"Our negotiating teams have reported that they have resolved all of the major issues," Clinton said after meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at his residence outside Moscow.
"There are some technical issues that remain but we are on the brink of seeing a new agreement," she said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Medvedev ordered officials last April to work on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I).
Negotiators missed an initial deadline of Dec. 5, 2009, when START I expired. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said negotiators could have a deal ready for signing by mid-April.
The push for a new treaty is a major part of an effort to "reset" relations between the United States and Russia, which were increasingly strained over the apst decade.
The Cold War foes say they hope reducing the world's largest nuclear arsenals would send a signal to other nations and help stem the spread of nuclear weapons.
