The US and Russia on Wednesday concluded the first round of talks aimed at replacing a landmark Cold War-era nuclear disarmament treaty before it expires in December.
Negotiators met behind closed doors to discuss a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), in high-stakes talks whose outcome could have far-reaching implications for global security.
The initial two-day negotiating session were carried out in a “business-like and constructive atmosphere,” a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, adding that the next round would take place in Geneva on June 1 to June 3.
PHOTO: AP
“The sides discussed a wide range of issues involved in preparing the future accord, as well as a possible outline of the report on the talks which is due to be presented to the presidents of both countries in July,” the spokesman said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that both sides had agreed to stay quiet about the talks, which are expected to be difficult as negotiators seek to reach a deal before Dec. 5.
The effort to replace the 1991 START I treaty is a central element of US President Barack Obama’s plan to “reset” badly strained ties with Russia.
Productive negotiations could boost Obama’s vision of a world free of atomic weapons and help set the stage for a summit in July when Obama travels to Moscow to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Reflecting the difficulties facing negotiators, however, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the final treaty needed to take missile defense into account.
His comments appeared aimed at US plans to install elements of a global missile shield in eastern Europe which have angered Moscow and threaten to undermine the START negotiations.
Talks on finding a successor to START made little progress under Obama’s predecessor, former US president George W. Bush, and many stumbling blocks remain despite a warming of ties under Obama.
Some policy experts have been skeptical that a replacement can be agreed before December.
“The biggest problem on the path to bettering US-Russian relations is the colossal level of political mistrust,” said Nikolai Zlobin, the head of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute in Washington.
“Even if it is possible to someday overcome this mistrust, it won’t happen soon,” he wrote in the Russian state newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
The US negotiating team in Moscow is led by Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, while the Russian team is headed by Anatoly Antonov, head of the foreign ministry department for security and disarmament.
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