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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