Dozens of negotiators from each country were taking part in the START talks which resume at the US diplomatic mission in Geneva after a 10-day break for consultations in their capitals, they said. “The heads of delegation will meet and then the round will resume,” a Russian diplomat in Geneva told Reuters on Tuesday.A US spokesman said: “The two sides are committed to concluding negotiations. What is important is that we arrive at a quality agreement.” The world’s two largest nuclear powers are seeking a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which could ease relations at a time when major powers are pressing Iran and North Korea to meet Western demands on their nuclear programs. The Cold War-era pact expired last December.
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev agreed last July that the successor treaty must cut deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 per side from the current 2,200. Bombers and missiles that can deliver them would be sharply limited.
Russia and the United States currently hold some 95 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads. The Geneva talks have been shrouded in secrecy, but apparent sticking points have included verification and monitoring measures as well as Russia’s opposition to US plans for missile defense facilities in eastern Europe.
