Negotiators from the United States and Russia have agreed the outline of a new nuclear arms pact, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified diplomatic source as saying today.
"The provisions of a new Start agreement are agreed and there will be an official announcement in the near future," the source was quoted as saying.
The world's two largest nuclear powers have been trying to find a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start-1).
A senior US official said in Washington on Thursday that US president Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could reach an agreement in principle in Copenhagen today, leaving negotiators to finalise a deal in the next few days.
The two leaders will meet in the Danish capital on the sidelines of a global climate change conference.
Russia called on Thursday for simpler verification procedures for planned cuts in nuclear weapons arsenals, while Washington insisted it wanted a deal that worked for both former Cold War foees.
Reuters