GENEVA. March 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and the U.S. will do their best to conclude a new treaty by the end of 2009 to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), which is to expire on December 5, 2009, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Speaking at a press conference following her talks with Lavrov in Geneva on Friday, Clinton said the U.S. government treats this issue as a high priority and is determined to conclude a new deal by the end of 2009. Washington is prepared to begin working on this immediately, she said.
Lavrov said, "We will do all we can so that the agreement is achieved."
"The current treaty has become outdated. At least the limits that it stipulates have long been complied with, and remaining within the framework of this treaty would in fact mean that Russia and the U.S. might not reduce their strategic offensive weapons and might even increase them. This would be a very bad message to all the others," Lavrov said.
Asked whether the U.S. would agree to include the verification mechanisms provided for by START in the new treaty, Clinton replied that this is part of the agenda that the U.S. is prepared to discuss.