United States to initiate new discussions as START treaty with Russia expires this year

Al-Masakin News Agency

By Edward Campbell

Missoula, Feb. 6 (Al-Masakin)–acting Deputy Spokesman for the State Department Gordon Duguid said at the Daily Press  briefing that replacement discussions with the Russian Federation on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) will be Fast Tracked because the Treaty expires in 2009.

Although the spokesman said it was to early to being talking about any numbers in terms of reductions of America’s nuclear stockpile, he said: “We are prepared to deal seriously with the Russians on arms reductions. And I don’t know if we have made the first moves on that yet, whether or not we’ve had meetings on that yet. If we do have, I’ll make sure that I get that to you. But the fast track is a statement of fact.”

The spokesman went on to say that the first meeting face-to-face with the Russian Federation will take place at the G-20 meeting which is scheduled to take place April 2 in London.  After that the American government will meet with Russian officials at the NATO summit which is scheduled to be held at Strasbourg in April.  The summit will mark the 60th Anniversary of the orgaization.  The spokesman was unsure whether or not there will be a NATO-Russia Council meeting at that summit.

” I have no doubt that when we sit down with the Russians, they will raise missile defense, and we’ll be prepared to discuss it with them at that point,” Mr. Duguid said.

The spokesman could not confirm a report that appeared in The Daily Telegraph that Henry Kissinger was sent by the Administration to Moscow to have negotiations to try to persuade the Russian Government to agree to reduce their stockpile by 1,000 nuclear warheads, and deferred the question to the White House.

EHC / EHC

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Al-Masakin News Agency

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