Russia, US new nuclear treaty in progress: Moscow
Russia and US have been involved in comprehensive talks over a new nuclear arms reduction deal to replace the START 1 treaty.
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MOSCOW (AFP): Russia said that its talks with the United States on a new nuclear disarmament treaty were still on track, despite reports that disagreements were holding up the negotiations.
"The intention of both sides is to guarantee the possibility of signing a new treaty as soon as possible," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists.
US and Russian negotiators have been meeting in Geneva this week to discuss a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a landmark Cold War-era nuclear arms pact which expired in December last year.
Agreeing a replacement for START has been a foreign-policy priority for the administration of US President Barack Obama, and a deal would help bolster Obama's stated goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
When asked whether the START talks had stalled due a dispute over US missile defence, Nesterenko said: "We have never spoken of any disagreements. A normal process of negotiation is under way."
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Obama had been "frustrated" after a February phone call with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, who told him Moscow wanted to reopen issues that Washington had thought settled.
"The intention of both sides is to guarantee the possibility of signing a new treaty as soon as possible," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists.
US and Russian negotiators have been meeting in Geneva this week to discuss a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a landmark Cold War-era nuclear arms pact which expired in December last year.
Agreeing a replacement for START has been a foreign-policy priority for the administration of US President Barack Obama, and a deal would help bolster Obama's stated goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
When asked whether the START talks had stalled due a dispute over US missile defence, Nesterenko said: "We have never spoken of any disagreements. A normal process of negotiation is under way."
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Obama had been "frustrated" after a February phone call with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, who told him Moscow wanted to reopen issues that Washington had thought settled.
