Russia, U.S. bristle on '91 nuclear treaty

WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Major differences exist between the United States and Russia over renewing the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, The Washington Times said.

Talks are expected between experts from the two countries as soon as this month before the treaty expires in 2009 but the differences going in are large, the Times said in its Tuesday editions.

The Russians are demanding a legally binding document, while the U.S. side is seeking a looser and more transparent approach based on new world conditions, sources told the Times.

Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said the days of using nuclear weapons as bargaining chips are gone.

"We are not going to engage in Cold War-style arms control," Joseph said to the Times. "Issues like cooperation on combating nuclear terrorism are much more important today."

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta some old Cold War concepts are still relevant.

"We don't want a discussion reduced to the idea that, since we are no longer opponents, there is no need for us to restrain each other," he said. "Actually, it carries the risk of generating the same old arms race, since neither of us is likely to want to lag behind too much."