A fresh nuclear disarmament treaty between Moscow and Washington should not cut warheads further than 1,500 on either side, a senior Russian general says, news agencies reported Wednesday.
"Our position is that we must not go below 1,500 warheads," General Nikolai Solovtsov, the head of Russia's strategic missile forces, was quoted as saying by Interfax and ITAR-TASS news agencies.
"But the decision is up to the country's political leadership," he added.
The United States and Russia are seeking to negotiate a successor to a key Cold War-era disarmament pact, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), before it expires in December.
The outcome of their talks could have far-reaching implications for global security — and a successful result would boost US President Barack Obama's stated vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed at their first meeting in April to pursue deep cuts in their nuclear arsenals, but the precise extent of the reductions is still a matter of discussion.
The last major disarmament deal between Moscow and Washington — the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) — imposed a limit of 1,700 to 2,200 deployed warheads on either side.
One big obstacle in the current talks is a controversial US plan to deploy missile defence facilities in eastern Europe. Moscow opposes the idea, but Washington says it is aimed at "rogue states" such as Iran, not Russia.
Last week another top Russian general, Nikolai Makarov, said Moscow would not reduce its nuclear arsenal unless the Obama administration made clear its plans for the missile shield, the brainchild of ex-president George W. Bush.
The next round of START talks is expected in Geneva in the second half of June.
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