US, Russia Agree Arms Cuts, Afghan Transit

The US and Russia clinched agreements on cutting nuclear arsenals and US military transit into Afghanistan across Russia.

"The president and I agreed that the relationship between Russia and the United States (has suffered) from a sense of drift," US President Barack Obama said at joint news conference in the Kremlin with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"We resolved to reset US-Russian relations. Today after less than six months of collaboration (since coming to office) we have done exactly that."

Moscow and Washington signed a declaration pledging to reach a new nuclear arms reduction pact to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

Obama said the pact provides for cuts of "up to a third" from current limitations.

"(It) commits both parties to a legally binding treaty that will reduce nuclear weapons," the White House said in a statement.

START is due to expire on December 5 but the Russian-US declaration gave no target date for a renewal, instructing negotiators to complete the work as quickly as possible.

The declaration called for a reduction in the number of nuclear warheads in Russian and US strategic arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 within seven years and the number of ballistic missile carriers to between 500-1,100.

The cuts go beyond those levels set in the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) which calls for both countries to reduce the number of deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 on either side by 2012.

"The declared reduction is a real agreement and it suits everyone," said Alexei Malashenko, analyst with the Carnegie Centre in Moscow.

"The Americans have decided to accept Russia as it is.

"Obama does not have the complexes from the Cold War and does not consider Russia to be an enemy of the United States."

Afghanistan

The ex-foes also clinched an agreement for US military transit for Afghanistan across Russia.

"This is a substantial contribution by Russia to our international effort," Obama said.

The deal allows the use of Russian airspace for the transit of US-led foreign troops and weapons into Afghanistan.

A senior US official said the deal permits up to 4,500 military flights per year, or about 12 per day, which can be loaded with troops, firearms, ammunition, military vehicles and spare parts.

Military flights would not be charged air navigation fees and that they would not stop on Russian territory, said the official.

Previously, Moscow had only allowed the US to ship non-lethal military supplies across its territory by train.

NATO supply routes into Afghanistan from Pakistan have been under attacks from Taliban militants, forcing the US to look for other transit routes into the war-torn country.

The deal marks a victory for Obama in his campaign to win the war against the Taliban, ousted by the 2001 US invasion.

Missile Shield

Differences, however, remained between Moscow and Washington over the US missile shield plans in eastern Europe.

"The discussions on missile defense are proceeding with great difficulty because the approaches are very different," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

However, Obama expressed hope that the two countries would overcome differences on the missile shield.

"I believe that over time we will have seen that the US and Russian positions can be reconciled," he said.

The US plans to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland plus a radar facility in the neighboring Czech Republic by 2011-2013 to complete a system already in place in the US, Greenland and Britain.

Washington insists the shield is to fend off potential missile attacks by "rogue states," a phrase regarded as including Iran, but Russia says the plan is aimed against its territory.

Obama said it would be inappropriate to link talks on the missile defense dispute to negotiations on renewing a nuclear reduction treaty.

"We have not thought that it is appropriate to link a missile defense system that is designed to deal with an entirely different threat, unrelated to the kinds of robust capabilities that Russia possesses."

Meanwhile, Obama repeated the continued US dissatisfaction with Russia's recognition of two breakaway Russian regions as independent, saying Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity "must be respected".

"There are areas where we still disagree...we had a frank discussion on Georgia".