US ambassador: Russia arms deal to mention missile shield

MOSCOW — The United States and Russia have agreed that a new arms control treaty will mention a link between offensive nuclear arms and defenses against them, the US ambassador to Moscow said Thursday, signaling a possible breakthrough in arms reduction talks.
Russian foreign policy experts said Ambassador John Beyrle@@@s statement in his blog post could mean that US-Russian talks will soon produce a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START.
The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment, but some Russian analysts said Beyrle@@@s statement paved the way for a quick signing of the nuclear arms deal after months of tough bargaining.
Beyrle@@@s statement indicated the US stance has shifted.
"The treaty deals with offensive, not defensive systems, but since we acknowledge a logical link between them, our presidents have agreed that the treaty will contain a provision on the interconnection between strategic offensive and defensive weapons," he said in his Russian-language blog.
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