U.S. Negotiator Signals Flexibility Toward Moscow Over New Round of Arms Talks

Components of a Peacekeeper missile are subjected to a wall of fire. Such testing helps determine how aging weapons will perform in the future. Photo from Whitehouse.gov

From The New York Times:

MOSCOW — The top arms control negotiator for the United States said on Monday that the government was willing to agree to count both nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles when renegotiating the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start — addressing one of Russia’s longstanding concerns.

In an interview with the Russian news service Interfax, the negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, also said the United States was open to a Russian proposal to use radar based in Azerbaijan or Southern Russia, rather than Eastern Europe, for the proposed missile defense system.

Officials from the administration of President George W. Bush had not followed up on the idea of relocating the radar from Eastern Europe, where Russia fears it would be part of a missile defense system that would be used against it. American officials have contended that the system is meant as a deterrent to Iran.

Read more .....

My Comment:It is not normal to have the U.S. negotiator publicly state what the U.S. position is going to be .... I guess everyone (or at least some) are eager for an agreement.