Global General
No new Russia-US arms pact yet as treaty expires
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-05 00:31
MOSCOW: The presidents of Russia and the United States on Friday pledged to keep working for a deal to reduce arsenals of Cold War nuclear weapons, as an existing treaty expired, but did not announce any new agreement.
The White House and the Kremlin say that a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) would help "reset" relations after the rows of recent years.
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev said in a joint statement released by the Kremlin that they would continue to work towards a new treaty.
Obama and Medvedev agreed in April to work for a deal before the START deal expired at midnight on December 4.
Now diplomats are talking about finding a deal by the year-end, though it is still unclear when the two presidents could meet for a signing ceremony.
Negotiations have been proceeding in Switzerland between the two sides under unusually tight secrecy. Both parties have committed to a news blackout on details of the talks and even senior embassy officials are not being fully briefed.
