BREAKING NEWS

Russia: Talks with US on nuclear arms 'constructive'

Russia said Thursday that talks with the United States on nuclear arms reductions had been constructive, but suggested a summit next month might not bring a new deal. Talks on an arms reduction deal to replace the 1991 START treaty are a keystone of efforts to improve troubled Russian-American ties. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said the talks had been held in a "constructive and businesslike" atmosphere. He said Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev would likely be able to "announce intermediate results" at the summit in early July, suggesting an actual deal is more likely to come later. START expires in December. Nesterenko said the next round of talks was scheduled fore next week in Geneva.