Russia and the United States have a good chance at signing a new nuclear arms reduction deal before year"s end, but other nuclear powers must join disarmament efforts to move toward a nuclear-free world, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday. Medvedev told the German magazine Der Spiegel that the U.S.-Russian arms control talks have been going at a good pace. «We have every chance to agree on a new treaty, determine new (weapons) levels and control measures and sign a legally obliging document in the end of the year,» he said in remarks released by the Kremlin and quoted by the Associated Press. Moscow and Washington are negotiating a successor deal to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires on Dec. 5. Efforts to slash U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals have been a major part of President Barack Obama"s push to «reset» relations with Russia. Russian and U.S. diplomats are set to launch another round of negotiations in Geneva on Monday. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has voiced hope it would be conclusive.
