Russia and US begin nuclear talks

Russia and the US are holding the first of three days of talks in Moscow on a new treaty aimed at reducing their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
Senior diplomats need to hammer out a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start I) which expires in December.
The main sticking points are limits on the number of warheads and whether the treaty will cover bombers and missiles.
Also on the agenda is Moscow’s concern over a US missile defence programme.

Analysts say a successful outcome would be a boost for relations before a visit to Moscow in July by US President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed last month to pursue a deal to replace the Cold War-era Start I, signed in 1991.
Tuesday’s talks were being held behind closed doors at a 19th Century mansion in Moscow.
The Russian foreign ministry declined to comment on the talks and no press conferences have been planned, AFP news agency reported.
However, Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying: „We are seeking a constructive dialogue and hope that the optimism that is being expressed by both sides will feed through into practical results.“

US negotiators are led by Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller and include officials from the Pentagon and the US Department of Energy.
Ms Gottemoeller, a Russian expert, held preliminary talks in Rome last month with Russia’s chief negotiator Anatoly Antonov.
At a joint news conference afterwards, the heads of the US and Russian delegations said the talks had been „productive“.
Russia has said that as well as cutting the number of warheads, it would like to see a reduction in delivery systems – such as bombers, missiles and submarines.
It also wants to link the nuclear talks to US plans to deploy an anti-missile shield in Europe.
The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy says the US believes a new treaty will give Washington greater moral and political force against countries with nuclear ambitions such as Iran and North Korea.
Both presidents want the new deal to improve on an agreement by their predecessors in 2002 to cut deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 on each side by 2012.