Clinton to embark on 7-day European tour

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will discuss arms cuts when she visits Moscow during a seven-day trip to Europe, a State Department spokesman said.

Clinton will visit London, Dublin, Belfast, and Moscow October 9 through 15, Ian Kelly of the State Department said Friday.

Clinton will discuss a wide range of issues in London and Dublin, Kelly said. In Belfast, Clinton plans to stress the U.S. commitment to its mutual economic interests with Northern Ireland and will reaffirm U.S. support for the peace process in Northern Ireland.

In Moscow, Clinton will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following arms bilateral arms reduction talks in Geneva, in which she met with senior Russian officials, RIA Novosti reported.

The discussions with the officials focused on a follow-up agreement to START to discuss progress on a successor agreement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which will expire on Dec. 5. The meetings will stress cooperation concerning counter terrorism and non-proliferation, the Russian agency reported .

The Russian foreign ministry said the United States and Russia are committed to continue working on the treaty.

"Coordination of articles of the new draft agreement, as well as its technical points, were held by expert groups," the ministry said.

The full results of the talks are to be disclosed at the Moscow meeting.