Russia, US in 'productive talks' on nuclear treaty

NUKEWARS

Russia, US to resume disarmament talks in February: Lavrov
Moscow (AFP) Jan 22, 2010 - Russian and US negotiators will resume talks on a new nuclear weapons disarmament treaty at the start of February, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. "The remaining questions, I hope, will be pretty much resolved at an operative level when the negotiations resume. And they will resume at the start of February," Lavrov told a news conference. Negotiators from both sides have so far failed to agree a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed in 1991 just before the break-up of the Soviet Union, and which expired on December 5. Despite intense negotiations in Geneva, officials were not able to overcome before the Christmas holidays a range of disagreements on issues such as the numbers of carriers and inspections. US National Security Adviser James Jones and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen have taken part in the discussions in Moscow with their Russian counterparts on START over the last days, Russian officials have said. Lavrov said those talks would ease the task of the negotiators in Geneva to strike a deal.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Jan 22, 2010
Russian and US negotiators held productive talks on reaching a new nuclear weapons disarmament treaty, the White House said Friday, adding it was "pleased with the progress."

Moscow and Washington are locked in talks to hammer out a new pact to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed in 1991 just before the break-up of the Soviet Union, and which expired on December 5.

"We are pleased with the progress made and expect negotiations to continue as we work to iron out the final details," spokesman for the National Security Council, Michael Hammer, said.

National Security Advisor General James Jones and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen joined two days of closed-door talks in Moscow with their Russian counterparts, Hammer added in his statement.

They "held productive talks with General Nikolay Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, other senior Russian military officials, and the Russian START negotiating team."

The talks "discussed the ongoing effort to finalize a START agreement as well as other security issues, including Afghanistan, Iran, missile defense and continued US-Russian cooperation on issues of mutual concern."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier this month the two sides had made "significant" progress towards a new nuclear disarmament treaty.

Negotiators from both sides have so far failed to agree a successor treaty.

Despite intense negotiations in Geneva, officials were not able to overcome before the Christmas holidays a range of disagreements on issues such as the numbers of carriers and inspections.

US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart have set a goal of reducing the nuclear warheads stockpile to between 1,500 and 1,675 for each country.

The presidents also agreed that the number of "carriers" capable of delivering the warheads should be limited to between 500 and 1,100.

The United States has said it currently has some 2,200 nuclear warheads, while Russia is believed to have about 3,000.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

NUKEWARS

Cherie Blair to act for Aborigines in nuclear case
Sydney (AFP) Jan 23, 2010
The barrister wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair will represent a group of Australian Aborigines suing the British government over nuclear testing on their land, a report said Saturday. Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement spokesman Neil Gillespie said Cherie Blair had been engaged by a group from Emu Field, in Australia's red desert centre, who are seeking compensation over 1953 a ... read more

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement