Kremlin source: US and Russia reached agreement on ‘all documents’ for strategic arms treaty

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Kremlin source: New arms treaty ready for signing

MOSCOW — A senior Kremlin official says the United States and Russia have reached an agreement on “all documents” necessary to sign a new nuclear arms treaty.

The Kremlin source spoke Wednesday by telephone to The Associated Press but would not elaborate.

President Barack Obama has briefed top lawmakers in Washington on the negotiations but so far U.S. officials have only said the final language is close.

Czech officials announced earlier Wednesday that Prague will host the signing of the new U.S.-Russian treaty to reduce long-range nuclear weapons that would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

The Russian ambassador to Prague, Alexey Fedotov, told Czech President Vaclav Klaus of the date for the signing, Klaus’ presidential office said in a statement.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama briefed top lawmakers Wednesday on U.S. nuclear arms negotiations with Russia as administration officials reported that agreement on final language is close.

Obama spent an hour in the White House Situation Room with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., its ranking Republican. Both would play a key role in Senate ratification of the emerging treaty.

Czech officials announced earlier Wednesday that Prague will host the signing of a new U.S.-Russian treaty to reduce long-range nuclear weapons. It was in that city where Obama last April committed the United States to seeking “a world without nuclear weapons.”

As part of that strategy, he shook hands with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last year on plans to sharply reduce the two countries’ nuclear stockpiles. Obama and Medvedev had hoped to enshrine new limits in a replacement for the 1991 START accord, but that treaty expired last December as the talks dragged on.

Negotiations, which have been under way in Geneva, have centered on disputes over verification measures and Russia’s objection to U.S. missile defense plans for Europe.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because no deal has been announced, confirmed reports about the expected signing venue.

“We are still working to finalize a new START treaty but we have talked to our Czech allies and the Russians about a signing in Prague when the treaty is finished,” said the official. “Prague is where the president delivered a speech outlining his arms control and nonproliferation vision last spring and where we always wanted to do a signing.”

The official added that the meeting with Kerry and Lugar was “part of our ongoing consultations with Congress on START negotiations.”

Russian negotiators have balked at including some intrusive weapons verification measures in the new treaty. The administration has warned that without these, Senate ratification could prove difficult.

Any agreement would need to be ratified by the legislatures of both countries and would still leave each with a large number of nuclear weapons, both deployed and stockpiled.

The expired START treaty, signed by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President George H.W. Bush, required each country to cut its nuclear warheads by at least one-fourth, to about 6,000, and to implement procedures for verifying that each side was sticking to the agreement.

The two sides pledged to continue to respect the expired treaty’s limits on nuclear arms and allow inspectors to continue verifying that both sides were living up to the deal.

Obama and Medvedev agreed in July to cut the number of nuclear warheads each possesses to between 1,500 and 1,675 within seven years as part of a broad new treaty.

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Associated Press writer Karel Janicek reported from Prague.