MOSCOW - The United States and Russia were set to hold Wednesday a second day of talks aimed at replacing a landmark Cold War-era nuclear disarmament treaty that expires in December, officials said.
| Is there a need to do this, or it going to be a cheap PR 'victory' for Bambi? |
The talks on a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are a central part of US President Barack Obama's desire to 'reset' strained ties with Russia and their result could have far-reaching implications for global security. Signed in 1991, START led to deep cuts in the US and Russian atomic arsenals and is seen as a cornerstone of strategic arms control, but the agreement expires in December.
| Neither we nor the Russians need to spend billions of dollars/rubles on new nuclear weapons, though the Russians pro'ly can't help themselves. Let them do so and bankrupt their economy even more quickly ... |
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said the first day of talks took place Tuesday and would continue Wednesday as planned. He made clear though there would be little public information about them. 'By agreement of both sides the talks will be discreet and they will only release an agreed joint statement at the end,' Lyakin-Frolov told AFP.
Ahead of the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped they would be 'fruitful' but also cautioned that they would be linked to controversial US missile defence plans in eastern Europe.
'We believe that the START treaty cannot be discussed in a vacuum,' Lavrov was quoted as saying by news agencies late Monday. 'It must reflect the issue of global security, which certainly includes Russia's, and this implies that we must sort out the situation on missile defence,' Lavrov added.
'We will take into consideration all factors involved in creating security, including missile defense and setting armaments in space,' Lavrov said.
Moscow has reacted angrily to US plans to place elements of its planned global missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Washington has tried to keep missile defence off the negotiating table at the START talks, saying that the shield is not directed against Russia and is instead meant to protect against Iran.
But that rationale was called into question in a report published Tuesday by the New York-based EastWest Institute, which said Iran was far away from having long-range missiles and that the shield would not work anyway.
| Of course they don't think it will work: they're another of the 'think tanks' funded by the usual Leftist donors. The shield already works, and we know Iran is working hard on both nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them. The 'EastWest Institute' has a vested interest in ensuring that we're not prepared. |
Obama has pledged to continue with missile defence but only if it is cost-effective and proven to work.
| The only real proof is when someone unsuccessfully shoots missiles at us. |
Moscow wants a broad treaty that limits both nuclear warheads and their carriers, such as missiles and bombers, while Washington prefers to focus only on deployed warheads that are ready for launch. |