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russia accuses us of slowing progress on arms pact |
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Thursday, 17 December 2009Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blames U.S. negotiators Thursday for slowing efforts over the past week. And he said that while negotiations have improved, it is "unlikely" a deal could be signed when Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama attend the United Nation's climate summit in Copenhagen this week.
U.S. and Russian negotiators have been working in Geneva on a deal to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START. The goal is to have an agreement by the end of the year.
The new treaty would make even deeper cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals and the systems needed to launch those weapons.
Just this past Tuesday, U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said the two sides were "getting very close."
Russia has signaled it no longer wants U.S. inspectors monitoring its main missile plant. But the United States says it wants to continue transparency and verification measures on Russia's nuclear arsenals.
The U.S. and Russia agreed on the basic principles of a new treaty at a summit in July.
The U.S. Senate and Russian Duma must ratify a new agreement before it takes effect.
By VOA News |
Thursday, 17 December 2009
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