WASHINGTON (voa) – U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says talks with Russia on cutting nuclear weapons have been going along very well.
Secretary Rumsfeld spoke to reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday on his meeting in Moscow Monday with Russian Defense Secretary Sergei Ivanov. Senior U.S. and Russian officials are striving to complete an arms deal before the May 23 summit of U.S. and Russian leaders in Moscow. One top Russian official has said a pact may not be ready in time.
Secretary Rumsfeld did not say if he believes a treaty will be ready before President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet. But he called the talks a constructive and useful process. Mr. Rumsfeld said the United States and Russia are developing a new political, economic, and security relationship. He says not everything in this new framework has to be put in writing
The United States and Russia have said they want to cut their arsenals of offensive nuclear weapons from 6,000 warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 each.
Both President Bush and President Putin have said they want to sign a deal during their four-day summit in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov meets with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington Thursday and Friday to prepare for the summit and talk about an arms deal.
