Global Security Newswire

Washington and Moscow plan to continue observing inspection terms and some other elements of a landmark arms control treaty after the agreement lapses tonight, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 3).

The governments, which have been struggling to finish negotiating a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, believe the 1991 document's imminent expiration would pose little threat to their security interests. The deal expires tonight at midnight Greenwich Mean Time, or 7 p.m. Eastern time.

The powers could rely on a non-binding deal to keep some START measures in effect as they wrap up the negotiation and ratification of a replacement document in coming months, the U.S. State Department indicated this week (Desmond Butler, Associated Press/Google News, Dec. 4).

The White House and the Kremlin today released a joint statement by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev indicating the efforts to reach a new agreement would continue.

"Recognizing our mutual determination to support strategic stability between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, we express our commitment ... to continue to work together in the spirit of the START Treaty following its expiration, as well as our firm intention to ensure that a new treaty on strategic arms enter into force at the earliest possible date," the statement said.

Obama and Medvedev agreed in July to cut their nations' respective deployed strategic nuclear arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 warheads, down from the 2,200-weapon limit the states are required to meet by 2012 under another treaty. The leaders also pledged to restrict strategic delivery vehicles on each side to between 500 and 1,100.

The sides have yet to agree on exact limits on warheads and delivery vehicles, and differences have persisted over terms for verifying each other's compliance with the new pact, Reuters reported. Diplomats from both nations have imposed heavy restrictions on news leaks on the talks (Reuters, Dec. 4).

"The eighth round of the U.S.-Russian talks will continue on Dec. 5. It is not ruled out that the talks will continue for a few more days," one Russian Foreign Ministry source told Interfax, according to the Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency/China View, Dec. 4).