Russia and US close in on nuclear disarmament deal
FRANCE: Russia and the United States are getting close to a deal on
reducing their nuclear arsenals through a follow-up to the START treaty,
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and US officials said Monday.
“We are close to agreeing all issues,” Medvedev told reporters in
Paris. “We are already agreeing on the nuances of the text. I hope that
these talks will be brought to a conclusion in the nearest future.”
Negotiations on a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty (START) between Moscow and Washington, which expired December 5,
have dragged on for months despite reports that the two sides are near
agreement. In Washington, senior US officials speaking on condition of
anonymity confirmed Monday that a deal was in the offing, with one
adding that President Barack Obama plans “dramatic reductions” in the
country’s nuclear arsenal.
“We expect the negotiations will resume in Geneva on March 9,” said
another, referring to the talks with Russia, explaining that the
negotiating teams had headed to their respective capitals for a “last
round” of consultations.
The broad outlines of a new START replacement treaty on nuclear
weapons have been clear since a summit in July, when Obama and Medvedev
agreed to slash the number of warheads on either side to between 1,500
and 1,675.
The presidents also agreed that the number of weapon systems capable
of delivering the warheads should be limited to between 500 and 1,100.
The United States has said it currently has some 2,200 nuclear
warheads, while Russia is believed to have about 3,000.
Nobel peace laureate Obama has called for all nuclear powers to give
up their arms, in the so-called “Global Zero” option, but both Medvedev
and his host in Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy, were sceptical about
this goal.
Paris, Tuesday, AFP
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