Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama on Saturday held talks by phone to discuss a new accord on cutting nuclear arsenals, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Media reports have said they expect the two presidents to sign the successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expired on December 5, in a European capital next week.
"The presidents had an exchange of opinions… concerning the results and perspectives of work on this important document for the strategic stability of the world," the statement said.
Medvedev and Obama stressed the "intensive character" of the work of Russian and US delegations in Geneva which "allow us to talk of considerable progress in the negotiation process".
"The two heads of state agreed on asking (the delegations) to actively pursue work… in order to reach definitive agreements on all issues," the statement added.
The new agreement on which the delegations have been working for more than six months in Geneva is due to take over from START 1.
Medvedev will travel to Copenhagen for the final stages of the UN Climate talks on Thursday and Friday. Obama is also expected in the Danish capital on Friday for the end of the conference.
Medvedev and Obama in July set a goal of slashing the number of warheads on either side to between 1,500 and 1,675 and the number of "carriers" capable of delivering them to between 500 and 1,100.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
