A successor to a key nuclear arms control treaty could be signed by late next week, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 7).
(Dec. 8) -
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, shown in 2004, yesterday discussed strategic arms control issues with a U.S. counterpart (Stephen Jaffe/Getty Images).
Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry sources said "there is a desire to conclude and sign" a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty "by Dec. 18," the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. The original pact expired Saturday.
The sides have "succeeded in agreeing on the main points," according to the newspaper. The specific language of the text has yet to be finalized, it added.
"The Russian and American negotiators are continuing their consultations nearly around the clock in Geneva," Switzerland, the report stated.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed in July to cut their nations' respective deployed strategic nuclear arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 warheads under a replacement deal, down from the 2,200-weapon limit the states are required to meet by 2012 under the 2002 Moscow Treaty. The leaders also pledged to restrict strategic delivery vehicles on each side to between 500 and 1,100 (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Dec. 7).
Differences over how to confirm the elimination of warheads and delivery systems are the primary obstacle to reaching an agreement, one high-level diplomatic source told Reuters yesterday.
"The Russians want a less intrusive system than the old treaty," said the source, who is not directly participating in the talks.
If a new accord is completed quickly enough, Obama could sign the agreement while in Europe next week to receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, observers have suggested (Reuters/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Dec. 7).
At a meeting yesterday in Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher addressed "the additional reduction of strategic weapons and the fight against the proliferation of technologies relative to missiles," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement without elaborating (AFP).
Elsewhere, Moscow and Washington are inviting European governments to participate in a nuclear security drill the powers plan to conduct next year, Interfax reported.
"[These] sort of nuclear exercises are held between high-level experts," said Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin. "We and the Americans are in the first place, but we are not leaving our European partners behind."
Rogozin suggested Belgium as one potential host for the drill.
"Probably, it would be reasonable to do this in the countries which have a nuclear weapon," the official said, noting that U.S. nonstrategic nuclear bombs are fielded in several European nations (see GSN, Nov. 18; Interfax, Dec. 7).