Talks between the United States and Russia on cutting their nuclear arsenals will begin before the end of the month, a Russian official was quoted as saying Saturday.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Wednesday in London to launch talks aimed at slashing their nuclear weaponry in a replacement for the cornerstone START arms reduction treaty which expires at the end of the year.
"We should be starting the consultations before the end of April," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov as saying.
The initial talks would be conducted by senior foreign ministry and State Department officials, he added.
In their first face-to-face talks, held on the eve of the G20 summit, Obama and Medvedev also upped pressure on Iran over its nuclear program and agreed the US leader would go to Moscow in July.
The 1991 treaty limits the number of missiles and warheads that each side may have, and was the basis of Cold War strategic arms control.
U.S. officials did not disclose the size of the intended cuts, but signalled they would cover a substantial chunk of the superpower armory.
One U.S. official called the nuclear negotiating instructions a "very significant breakthrough," and they were welcomed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the International Atomic Energy Agency.