US and Russia 'close to completing arms deal'

Russia and the US will sign a new nuclear arms deal shortly, the Russian foreign minister said.

Sergey Lavrov sounded upbeat when asked about the prospects for a quick successor deal to the 1991 START I treaty that expired last Friday.

Asked by a reporter whether the agreement could be signed by President Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev at the sidelines of the international climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr Lavrov said: “The treaty will be signed soon.”

He would not elaborate.