Talks on a new U.S.-Russian nuclear disarmament treaty are going better than initially expected, a top Russian diplomat told the RIA-Novosti news agency Wednesday.
"The degree of progress is beyond the expectations that existed when we started," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
The U.S. and Russia have been seeking to agree a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, a cornerstone of Cold War-era nuclear arms control, before it expires on Dec. 5.
U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit Moscow next week for meetings with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev at which START is expected to be a central issue.
Obama and Medvedev had a "detailed discussion" by telephone about their upcoming summit, the Kremlin said in a statement posted on its Web site late Tuesday evening.
"In particular, the presidents placed significant emphasis on the topic of reducing strategic nuclear weapons. They discussed various aspects of the nuclear weapons issue in light of the positions that have been reached by the two countries negotiating teams," it said.
"The two leaders agreed to instruct their negotiators to intensify efforts in order to reach concrete results.
"Both sides expressed their confidence that the upcoming summit will provide great momentum and create a more productive atmosphere for bilateral relations, and allow the presidents to get to know one another better."
START led to huge reductions in the U.S. and Russian atomic arsenals after its signing in 1991.
But negotiations to find a successor treaty have been held up by a dispute over controversial U.S. plans to place missile-defense facilities in eastern Europe, which Russia opposes.