Russia Says Next START Talks Due by Early September

Russia says the next round of negotiations with the United States on a new deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) will take place by early September.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the two sides agreed to meet again at the end of August or in early September in Geneva.

A fourth round of U.S.-Russian talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty, also in Geneva, ended Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev met in Moscow earlier this month and agreed to drastically reduce their countries' nuclear arsenals.

The leaders signed a statement instructing negotiators to finalize a replacement for the START 1 treaty. The agreement provides for a reduction of warheads from 2,200 to a range of 1,500 to 1,675 and reduces launch vehicles from 1,600 to a range of 500 to 1,100.

The new 10-year agreement would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires in December.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.