Missile defence has been a major irritant for the two countries, and Russia underscored that issue on Friday. Said Lavrov: "I am certain that it is fully within our powers to reach a common denominator and maybe even come out with a plus for our strategic relations on the issues of both START and missile defence." "This is of the highest priority," she said. "We intend to have an agreement by the end of the year," Clinton told a news conference after talks and a working dinner with her Russian counterpart.Īsked by reporters during a joint news conference if it was realistic to expect a new pact in time to replace the START I treaty by the time it expires in December, Clinton was emphatic. Whatever the logistics, both Clinton and Lavrov expressed confidence in the result. The aim is to have plans for proceeding on arms talks ready by the time President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meet at an economic summit in England in early April, according to State Department officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the arrangements were still being worked out. But they also said both sides would develop a working plan to forge an agreement to reduce the two countries' formidable nuclear arsenals. Upbeat and often smiling, both Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after two hours of talks that they had reached no new formal agreements. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, declaring a fresh start for relations with Russia, predicted Friday that the two countries would complete a new arms reduction treaty by year-end and find common ground on other major issues as well.
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