US-Russian Arms Talks in Moscow April 23-24

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 30, 2002

US-Russian Arms Talks in Moscow April 23-24

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Encouraged by the pace of talks, US and Russian arms negotiators will meet in Moscow on April 23 and 24 to work on the strategic arms agreement that Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin hope to sign at their summit in May, the US negotiator said on Friday.

Under Secretary of State John Bolton told a briefing that he would follow up on talks between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who are meeting in Madrid in the second week of April.

Bolton leads the US side in talks on arms control with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov. They reported some progress after negotiations in Geneva last week.

The two sides have agreed to reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to about the same level -- between 1,700 and 2,200 in the case of the United States -- but they have not agreed on a counting method or on what an agreement should say about the warheads they intend to put into storage.

After the Bolton-Mamedov meeting in Moscow, Powell and Ivanov are expected to meet again in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik in May during a NATO ministerial meeting.

"I don't expect them to conclude an agreement in Madrid, but we're certainly hoping that that will further the progress we've made and make it possible to reach a final agreement between the two presidents in Moscow," Bolton said. "I think the pace of our discussions is encouraging," he added.

US, Russia Make Headway on Offensive Arms Issues

John Bolton said on Friday that the United States and Russia have made headway on a "variety of issues" concerning offensive weapons and the new strategic framework, despite some outstanding important issues remaining to be worked out.

"We are making good progress," which "accurately reflects the maturing and merging relationship" between the two nations, Bolton told reporters at the Foreign Press Center.

But he said that he did not want to leave the impression that the two countries have reached agreement, although the pace of negotiations between the two sides is "encouraging".

He said that the important issues still to be worked out included the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, adding that "the non-proliferation question is a very high priority for us."

He also expected that those particularly important issues will be the major topics of discussion when U.S. Secretary State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov meet in a couple of weeks.

U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to pay a visit to Russia next May, a reciprocal visit by Russian President Putin to Washington last November. The two heads of state reportedly may sign agreements on offensive weapons and new strategic framework.

The United States announced last year that it would cut its strategic nuclear warheads to a range of 1,700 to 2,200 from present 6,000, over a period of 10 years, and would place many of the warheads removed from the deployed forces in reserve.

Putin made a similar decision during his trip to the Unite States last year, but the Russian side suggested that the two countries sign an agreement concerning the reduction of nuclear warheads.

Bolton said the two sides discussed "ways to codify the reductions in offensive warheads in a legally binding document."

Bolton is expected to visit Russia next month to continue discussions with his Russian counterpart.

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