Arms cuts top agenda for Obama, Medvedev

WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. and Russian presidents are expected to discuss extensive weapons reductions when they meet next week in Moscow, a White House aide said.

During their summit Monday, presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia not only are prepared to announce the status of a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty under negotiation, but also shift to broader arms control talks by December, when a current arms control agreement expires, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The treaty under discussion for December would reduce strategic weapons to fewer than 1,700 each for the United States and Russia, and limit delivery vehicles for the weapons to fewer than 1,600 apiece, the Obama administration official said. In addition to addressing strategic weapons, this treaty also would limit tactical "battlefield" nuclear weapons and non-deployed warheads.

Because of its complexity, the broader treaty could take up to three years to negotiate, arms control experts said.

"This is going to require a lot of creativity," Richard Burt, chief U.S. negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty concluded in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush with Moscow, told the Journal.