The U.S. and Russia will fail to reach a deal on a key nuclear arms treaty before it expires early next month, the Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing a source familiar with the talks.
The U.S. and
Russia
will
fail to reach a deal on a key nuclear arms treaty before it expires early next
month, the Interfax news agency reported Friday, citing a source familiar with
the talks.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev had
sought to agree a successor to the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty, known as START, before it expires on Dec. 5.
"Most likely, the Russian and
U.S.
sides
will not sign a new agreement by Dec. 5, when START expires, and it seems the
Geneva
talks
will continue beyond this date," the source told Interfax.
"It is difficult to say right now how much longer the talks will
continue," said the source, who was identified only as an "informed
source in
Moscow
."
But the source added: "It is not ruled out that the sides will find a form
which would avoid a legal vacuum and would allow the two sides to continue to
fulfill their commitments in this sphere."
U.S.
and
Russian negotiators have met repeatedly in
Geneva
in recent
months to thrash out a replacement for START, which imposes strict limits on
the atomic arsenals of the two former Cold War foes.
A major obstacle to a deal was eliminated in September when the Obama
administration announced it was scrapping a plan to deploy a missile shield in
eastern Europe which was fiercely opposed by
Russia
.
But media reports in recent weeks have suggested that the talks have hit snags
over the monitoring of Russian missiles and limits on the number of
"carriers" capable of delivering nuclear warheads.
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