Russia and the United States made considerable...
The Russian ministry said the latest round of talks in Geneva, which ended on February 27, saw the sides "considerably move forward in coordinating the remaining issues on a set of documents that will form the package of the new agreement."
"The sides agreed to continue official talks from March 9 in Geneva," the ministry said.
Russia and the United States have been negotiating a replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty since the two countries" presidents met in April last year, but finalizing a document has dragged on, with U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe a particular sticking point. START 1, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, expired on December 5.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow expects a new nuclear arms cuts deal to be linked to missile defenses, adding that President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama reaffirmed this linkage during telephone talks on Wednesday.