Moscow: The United States and Russia are "on
the verge" of a new nuclear disarmament treaty after months of
talks, US Under Secretary of State William Burns said in
comments released on Thursday.
"We're on the verge of completing the agreement and ...
I'm optimistic that we'll complete it soon," Burns said,
according to the transcript of an interview released by the US
Embassy in Moscow as he was visiting Russia.
Washington and Moscow have been seeking to agree the
terms of a new pact to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START), which expired on December 5.
US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev had originally sought to have a new treaty by
December 5 but the talks have been bogged down in recent
months amid disagreements over various issues.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 15, 2010, 00:11