Russia, U.S. to sign new arms cuts deal soon: FM

MOSCOW, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the United States are to soon strike a successor deal to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired last week, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"The treaty will be signed soon," Lavrov told a press conference without giving further details as to when and where the two presidents would sign the new arms cuts pact.

Kremlin aide Arkady Dvorkovich said Tuesday that the two countries intended to conclude their nuclear disarmament talks in December.

The START-1, signed in 1991 between the Soviet Union and the United States, obligated both sides to reduce their nuclear warheads to 6,000 and delivery vehicles to 1,600.

A follow-up agreement signed in 2002 and known as the Moscow Treaty, required each country to meet the goal of 1,700-2,200 by Dec. 31, 2012.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed at a July summit in Moscow on the outline of the new treaty, including slashing their countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 operational warheads and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000.