US lawmakers hold talks on NKorea, arms control in Russia to set ground for Obama visit

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.

August 14th, 2009 PYONGYANG - A senior North Korean diplomat has said that his country's government is willing to hold talks with Washington. Kim Yong-il, a vice minister in the North's Foreign Ministry, is reported to have told reporters: "We always keep the door open to negotiations." According to Fox News, it was the first such remark from North Korea since former President Bill Clinton's visit to the country last week to negotiate the release of two American journalists.

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 7th, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama began his first meeting with Vladimir Putin Tuesday morning at the Russian prime minister's country residence outside Moscow. Obama, on his first visit to Russia since becoming president, held extensive talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday, resulting in a framework agreement for a new strategic arms reduction treaty.

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.

June 10th, 2009 Russia doesn't want to go below 1,500 warheadsMOSCOW — A top Russian general said Wednesday that a new U.S.-Russian arms control deal mustn't cut the number of nuclear warheads below 1,500 each, news reports said. Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, the chief of the military's Strategic Missile Forces, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that it will be up to the Kremlin to make the final decision on how deep the cuts should be.

May 11th, 2009 Kremlin: Obama to visit Russia July 6-8MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Monday that President Barack Obama will travel to Russia July 6-8, where talks are expected to focus on nuclear weapons reductions and broader improvements the US-Russian relationship. The dates for Obama's Russian trip, scheduled just before the July G-8 meeting in Italy, were posted on the Kremlin Web site Monday.

April 27th, 2009 Russia: START-replacement talks set for MayMOSCOW — The first full-format talks by Russia and the United States on devising a replacement for the START arms-reduction treaty will take place May 18-20 in Moscow. Monday's announcement by Russia's Foreign Ministry follows last week's U.S.-Russia talks in Rome that focused on procedural issues for getting the full-fledged discussions under way.

February 9th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia was ready to hold talks with the new US administration on cuts in strategic offensive weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. 'We are ready for talks, which will allow us to preserve the mechanism of limitations and reductions of strategic offensive weapons and we are glad that the new US administration is paying priority attention to this subject,' Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Vesti-24 TV news channel.

February 3rd, 2009 LONDON - US President Barack Obama is to convene ambitious arms reduction talks with Russia that could see both countries slash 80 percent of their nuclear weapons, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The radical treaty would cut the number of nuclear warheads to 1,000 each, The Times newspaper reported.