Moscow: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
on Saturday said that the talks with US on a new arms cut pact to
replace Soviet-era START-1 agreement are difficult but the two
countries have made progress on many points.
During his meeting with the leaders of the
parliamentary parties at his hunting retreat 120 km from here,
Medvedev said talks are difficult, but many points have been
agreed on.
"Negotiations will continue. They are tough, but in
general we have agreed on many points with the Americans,"
Medvedev said in his televised remarks at the meeting.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama and Medvedev had
vowed to clinch a new arms cut pact by the December 5, 2009
deadline, however, due to Washington's demand to monitor the
Russian mobile Topol-M nuclear missiles, the negotiations were
stalled and the a new fillip was given at their December
meeting in Copenhagen on the sidelines of the Climate Summit.
"We have taken a large step forward, and we have
reached agreement to a significant degree in our positions,"
Medvedev said.
In July, Obama and Medvedev at their Moscow summit
agreed to slash nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 operational
warheads and missiles to the level of 500-1,000.
Medvedev said while signing the new treaty he will
take the political parties represented in the parliament into
confidence as it was to ratify the pact.
"This is a foreign policy issue, but it is of extreme
importance and will, in the final analysis, determine the face
of Russia for years to come," he said calling for the
simultaneous ratification of the new arms cut treaty by the
Russian parliament and US Congress.
"I think this is something our American partners
should know about, either we simultaneously ratify the
document or this process may not take place at all," he said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, January 17, 2010, 00:26