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US, Russia Close to Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty

   VOA News 19 March 2010
   Russian  President  Dmitry  Medvedev (2nd R) and US Secretary of State
   Hillary Clinton (3rd L) during a meeting outside Moscow, 19 Mar 2010

Photo: AP/RIA-Novosti; Vladimir Rodionov; Presidential Press Service

   Russian  President  Dmitry  Medvedev (2nd R) and US Secretary of State
   Hillary Clinton (3rd L) during a meeting outside Moscow, 19 Mar 2010

   U.S.  Secretary  of  State  Hillary Clinton says Russia and the United
   States are close to an agreement on a nuclear arms reduction treaty.
   Following  a  meeting  Friday  in Moscow with Russian President Dmitri
   Medvedev,  Clinton  said  all the major issues have been resolved, and
   that only technical matters remain.
   Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made similar comments after his
   meeting with Clinton Thursday.  He said negotiations are at the final
   stage.
   Clinton  also  is  expected  to  discuss  the issue with Russian Prime
   Minister Vladimir Putin.
   The two countries have been working for almost a year on a replacement
   for  the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expired
   in December.
   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama  and  Mr.  Medvedev agreed last year to
   further  reduce  their  nations' stockpiles of nuclear weapons under a
   new treaty.
   Negotiations  have bogged down in recent months, with Russian concerns
   about   U.S.  plans  for  a  missile  defense  system  in  Europe  and
   disagreements about how to verify nuclear arms cuts.

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   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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