MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry says that Russian and U.S. negotiators could finalize a new nuclear arms reduction deal within weeks.
Russia and the U.S. have been negotiating a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired on Dec. 5. The two countries had hoped to reach a deal before the end of last year, but differences persisted and officials had been evasive about a timeline.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said Wednesday that it could take just a few weeks to complete the talks.
He says the consultations held during last week’s visit to Moscow by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and retired Gen. Jim Jones, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, were successful.
