Clinton says ’substantial progress’ in replacement US-Russia nuclear arms reduction pact
By APThursday, March 18, 2010
Clinton sees progress in arms reduction treaty
MOSCOW — U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that Washington and Moscow are making “substantial progress” in negotiating a replacement pact to an expired treaty on limiting their strategic nuclear arsenals.
Clinton spoke in Moscow during a two-day visit for talks on a range of international issues, after a one-on-one meeting with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
The long-awaited replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — which expired Dec. 5 — is a pillar of the so-called reset in relations between the Cold War foes.
President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, called for a quick signing at their Moscow summit in July, but negotiations stalled over such issues as counting methods, verification procedures and U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe.
Teams of negotiators from both countries have been hammering out a new pact over the last months in Switzerland.
“We are making substantial progress on the new START treaty. The word from our negotiators in Geneva and the results from the latest negotiating rounds lead us to believe we will be reaching a final agreement soon.”
Some observers say Russia and the U.S. want a deal reached before nonproliferation conferences in the United States in April and May.
Lavrov said there was every reason to believe “we have entered the final straight.”
Clinton was to take part in a meeting of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers set to hold formal talks on Friday, and is also to see Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a previously unannounced schedule change.
Tags: Barack Obama, Eastern Europe, Europe, International Agreements, Israel, Jerusalem, Middle East, Moscow, North America, Nuclear Weapons, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Territorial Disputes, United States, Vladimir Putin, Weapons Administration, Weapons Of Mass Destruction
