Medvedev: Arms control deal with US can be reached

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev listens to translation during a press conference with U.S. President Barack Obama after the signing ceremony of the Joint Understanding on Strategic Arms Reduction at the Kremlin on July 6, 2009 in Moscow, Russia. (Epsilon, Getty Images)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow and Washington can sign a new nuclear arms control deal before year's end.

Medvedev says the U.S.-Russian arms control talks have been going at a good pace. He told Der Spiegel magazine in remarks released by the Kremlin on Saturday that the two nations could sign a legally binding agreement by the end of the year.

Moscow and Washington are negotiating a successor deal to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires on Dec. 5. The nuclear arms control talks have been a major part of efforts to overcome a strain in U.S.-Russian ties.

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.

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