Russia, U.S. on 'brink' of new arms treaty: Clinton
21 March 2010 | 
Author: doctor |
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Agence France-Presse -
Russia and the United States are "on the brink" of signing a new nuclear disarmament treaty after resolving all outstanding issues, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.Russian and U.S. negotiators have been in intense talks to agree a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expired in December but have so far failed to reach a final accord.
"We are encouraged by progress on a new START treaty," Clinton said after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"Our negotiating teams have reported that they had resolved all of the major issues. There are some technical issues that remain. But we are on the brink of signing a new agreement between the United States and Russia."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed her upbeat comments on the chances for a new agreement, which would target drastic reductions in the nuclear arsenals of the Cold War-era foes.
"We believe that in the nearest time we can count on the finishing of negotiations on a new agreement," Lavrov said alongside Clinton.
The comments represented a clear indication by the top diplomats that a new treaty is close, after media reports said the search for a new agreement has been stymied by major policy differences.