Top Russian and U.S. diplomats on Tuesday expressed their desire to complete the ratification of a new arms reduction treaty as soon as possible.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the ratification in the course of telephone conversation, the Foreign Ministry press service said.
"They discussed topical issues of bilateral strategic dialogue," it said. "Both sides expressed their determination to complete the ratification process as soon as possible."
The new START treaty, signed on April 8 in Prague, replaces the 1991 pact that expired in December. The deal is expected to bring Moscow and Washington to a new level of cooperation in the field of nuclear disarmament and arms control.
The United States has already submitted the document for ratification with the Senate, and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed this with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday.
The U.S. and Russian presidents earlier agreed that the two sides' ratification processes should be concurrent.
The new treaty on strategic arms cuts stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads be reduced to 1,550 on each side over seven years, while the number of delivery vehicles, both deployed and non-deployed, must not exceed 800.
MOSCOW, May 18 (RIA Novosti)
