WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. arms control official said Wednesday that U.S. negotiators were on their way to Moscow to resume talks with Russia on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Ellen Tauscher told reporters that talks would intensify when both sides meet in Geneva on Jan. 25. “I think we are really close,” Tauscher said of chances to conclude a deal soon.
Tauscher said Washington would resist Russian calls to include monitoring of U.S. missile defense interceptors as part of any deal. Washington and Moscow had hoped to reach a deal by the end of last year, but negotiators broke off for vacations after talks snagged on how to monitor arsenals.
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