On the way to nuclear deal

Verification measures to be discussed at meeting with Russian president

A deal between the United States and Russia to sharply reduce nuclear weapons is «just about done», and the two countries are now looking for ways to verify that they abide by the proposed limits, US Secretary of State said today.

The US Secretary of State, who is scheduled to meet Russian President on Monday, said discussions were focusing on how to apply verification measures included in the earlier START I and START II arms control treaties to the new limits proposed for offensive weapons.

The US administration has said it was willing to reach a written agreement extending these measures, such as mutual inspections. Asked by reporters whether this agreement could take the shape of a formal treaty, a senior State Department official said today the administration was not ruling out any option.

At a meeting with Russian president in the United States last month, the US President announced he was prepared to reduce the US stockpile to between 1, 700 and 2, 200 long-range nuclear warheads. Russian president said he was willing to cut his weapons to roughly 2, 000 warheads.

«The offensive weapons are just about done. All we have to do is hear a number from them and then talk through the verification and other issues», Secretary of State said on his airplane en route to Moscow, the sixth stop on his tour of European and Central Asian countries. There will be a «big concentration on transpare ncy so both sides know what the other is doing [and on] exchange of information on our various programs».

Secretary of State sounded less optimistic, however, about breakthrough in talks on the ABM Treaty that could allow the US administration to proceed with testing a missile defens e, system, now barred by the 1972 accord. US officials consider the treaty outmoded, but Russian president has called it central to maintaining stability between the nuclear powers.

«There is still this disagreement with respect to our missile defense programs», Secretary of State said. «Increasingly, the ABM Treaty constrains what the president feels we must do in order to get our missile defense systems».

While US officials want to scrap the treaty, many in the administration have been willing to reach an interim understanding with Russia that could allow testing to proceed while putting off a final decision about withdrawing from the accord. Secretary of State said he would be seeking «new ideas» in talks with Russian officials about how to permit the Pentagon's test program to move ahead. The United States is eager to proceed in the coming months with tests that could violate the treaty.

Although missile defense remains one of the administration's top foreign policy priorities, the most noticeable progress in talks with Russia has been in the field of reducing offensive weapons, which has become Moscow's priority in nuclear talks.

Although Bush has also called for sharp reductions in warheads, US officials have consistently said they want to avoid a new, burdensome arms control treaty. But in response to Russian president's insistence on written commitments, US president said last month he would be willing to put a new agreement on paper. «We're willing to do this in written form», a senior State Department official repeated today. «Not necessarily a treaty».

«What we don't want to lose is the verification and notifications and other provisions of START I and some of the provisions of START II», Secretary of State said.

In a statement released Friday, the State Department said, «A significant aspect of the START Treaty's regime lies in its use of verifiable methods to monitor its implementation». These include «the right to do on-site inspections and other verification measures». The treaty also calls for «data exchanges and notifications on each side's strategic systems as well as exchanges of telemetry data from missile flight tests».