Putin Urges Weapons-Treaty Talks With U.S.

Forbes/AP

President Vladimir Putin urged the United States on Tuesday to open talks on a weapons treaty to replace the key START agreement, seizing the initiative in what Russia considers the neglected sphere of arms control with less than three weeks before meeting President Bush in St. Petersburg.

"We call for the renewal of dialogue on key weapons reduction issues - first of all, we propose to our American partners to launch negotiations on replacing the START treaty," Putin said, adding that it was necessary to help reverse what he called a period of "stagnation" in disarmament.

The treaty, signed in 1991 by the United States and the Soviet Union, limits the number of various types of vehicles and warheads that could be deployed by either side, and it contains measures both sides can take to inspect and verify reductions. The agreement, which also provides verification procedures for the subsequent 2002 Moscow Treaty on strategic reductions, expires in December 2009.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the private, Washington-based Arms Control Association, said neither the United States nor Russia had shown much interest in a follow-up treaty. He called Putin's call "very, very significant." Read more