Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The United States and Russia would resume negotiations on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty START from next week in Geneva,officials said on Wednesday.
The decision to resume the negotiations between the two countries follows last week8217;s Moscow visit of top US officials National Security Advisor General Rtd James Jones and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
8220;Coming off the trip last week by National Security Advisor General Jones and Admiral Mike Mullen,the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,along with an inter-agency delegation that included Under Secretary Ellen Tauscher and Assistant Secretary Rose Gottemoeller,the negotiations on START will resume on Monday in Geneva,8221; Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley told reporters.
8220;Negotiating teams for both the US and the Russian side will convene and hopefully will arrive at a quality agreement that meets the needs and interests of both sides,8221; he said.
The START negotiations were temporarily stopped last month in view of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
However,informal discussion were made during this period between the two sides.
8220;I think we have had a productive interlude since the teams broke late last year. There is still work to be done. Hard to make any predictions in terms of what a time-line is. I think we8217;re reasonably optimistic that the finish line is within sight,8221; Crowley said.
National Security Advisor General Jones had said on last Monday that the two countries were making progress on the follow-on START agreement.
8220;We8217;re moving towards good results in the not-too-distant future,8221; he added.
