RIA Novosti
Moscow, July 6 (RIA Novosti) Russia expects to reach a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US by the year-end, an aide to President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) was signed by the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union July 31, 1991, five months before the communist federation collapsed.

The treaty will expire Dec 5, 2009.

Sergei Prikhodko said there had been no progress of late in reaching an understanding between Russia and the US on strategic arms.

President Medvedev and his US counterpart George W. Bush are scheduled to meet at a summit of the G-8 group of industrialised nations starting Monday in Japan’s Hokkaido.

Prikhodko said the US had expressed its readiness to reach an understanding on a new nuclear arms pact only in words.

“We hope that Bush will be able during the remaining period of his stay in the White House to reverse the situation to reach mutually acceptable accords by the end of the year. The entire international community is expecting this from us,” Prikhodko said.

Bush will relinquish office early next year after the end of his presidential term.
RIA Novosti