UN chief welcomes US-Russia arms reduction pact

October 14th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia will insist on the right to pre-emptive nuclear strikes against aggressor countries in its new military doctrine, the head of the country's Security Council said Wednesday. Nikolai Patrushev told the Izvestia newspaper that his country would reserve the right to a nuclear first-strike in draft military guidelines currently being prepared for the Kremlin.

October 13th, 2009 Russian FM: 'Considerable' progress on arms treatyMOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the U.S. and Russia have made "considerable" progress toward reaching agreement on a new strategic arms treaty.

October 12th, 2009 MOSCOW - US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme and the replacement of the current arms reduction treaty between Washington and Moscow during her official visit here, a report said Tuesday. Clinton, who arrived late Monday for a two-day official visit to Russia, is scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials, the report added.

October 8th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia believes that a new strategic arms reduction deal with the US should be signed before cuts in tactical nuclear weapons are discussed, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "As to tactical nuclear weapons, we share the view expressed by (US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs) Alexander Vershbow that the discussion of this issue is premature," ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

October 2nd, 2009 Clinton to visit Britain, Ireland, RussiaWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travels next week to Britain, Ireland and Russia for wide-ranging talks on economic and counterterrorism cooperation and arms control. The State Department said Friday that Clinton would visit London, Dublin, Belfast and Moscow from Oct.

September 21st, 2009 MOSCOW - For the first time, in talks on a new nuclear arms reduction deal, Moscow and Washington would be discussing concrete provisions for reaching an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) due to expire Dec 5. The sixth round of talks on a new nuclear arms reduction deal between Russia and the US opens Monday in Geneva.

July 25th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia and the US will hold a regular round of talks on arms cuts in Geneva between late August and early September, the Russian foreign ministry said Saturday. Russia and the US met July 22-24 in Geneva to continue talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace the old version known as START-I.

July 24th, 2009 US, Russia discuss nuclear arms reduction pactGENEVA — The United States and Russia met in Geneva this week to build on the commitment by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev to replace the expiring Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, a U.S. official said Friday.

July 7th, 2009 Obama: US, Russia share burden of reducing nukesMOSCOW — President Barack Obama says the United States and Russia must be united in resisting North Korea's attempt to become a nuclear power and Iran's effort to get a nuclear weapon. He declared in a speech to Russian college students that both Washington and Moscow have an obligation to put an end to nuclear proliferation and to seek a nuclear-free world.

July 6th, 2009 Obama, Medvedev agree to pursue nuclear reductionMOSCOW — President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are countering "a sense of drift" in relations between their nations with preliminary agreement Monday to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles to as few as 1,500 warheads each. "We must lead by example, and that's what we are doing here today," Obama said as he and his Russian host pointed their arsenals toward the lowest levels of any U.S.-Russia arms control agreement.

June 23rd, 2009 US: missile spat with Russia will be worked outWASHINGTON — A State Department official expressed confidence Tuesday that Russian objections to any U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe will not impede arms reduction talks.

June 22nd, 2009 US, Russia to discuss nuclear arms reduction pactGENEVA — The United States and Russia will hold two days of talks in Geneva this week on replacing the expiring Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The 1991 START treaty significantly cut American and Russian nuclear arsenals.

June 18th, 2009 Russia-US talks on nuclear arms 'constructive'MOSCOW — Russia says talks with the United States on nuclear arms reductions have been constructive, but suggests a summit next month may not bring a new deal. Talks on an arms reduction deal to replace the 1991 START treaty are a keystone of efforts to improve troubled Russian-American ties.

May 30th, 2009 Obama cheers step toward new nuclear arms pactWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is welcoming an agreement by the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament to open the way to negotiate a new nuclear arms control treaty. He says the decision signals a commitment to work together on what he calls a fundamental challenge.

February 6th, 2009 MUNICH - The prospective US missile defence shield in Central Europe targets Russia's nuclear deterrent, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has said. Speaking at the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy Friday, he also said Russia is proposing a ban on the placement of strategic offensive weapons outside national borders in a new Russia-US arms reduction agreement.