U.S. hopes to reach new arms control treaty with Russia soon

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States voiced Monday its expectation for reaching a replacement treaty for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia by the end of this year.

"What we're saying now is that we're hoping to get this draft agreement by the end of December," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

Under the 1991 START, which will expire on December 5, the United States and Russia would limit nuclear warheads to about 6,000 in each arsenal.

In their meetings in London and Moscow, President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedv have agreed on the significant reduction of the two countries' nuclear warheads each possesses to 1,500 to 1,675 on 500 to 1,100 delivery systems over seven years.

Reports from the State Department said that Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller and Russian negotiator Anatoly Antonov have been in Geneva for working to resolve remaining differences in areas of offensive weapons level and missile defense issues.