The United States and Russia announced progress Monday in negotiations toward an agreement on joint nuclear arms cuts after discussion of new proposals which Moscow said it had put forward.
But neither Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov nor Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held out any assurances that the two sides could close their differences quickly enough to have an accord ready in time for a May summit in Russia.
Ivanov, who discussed prospects for an accord to slash nuclear stockpiles with Rumsfeld for more than two hours, said the talks had addressed themselves to "a set of new ideas" which Moscow had advanced a few days ago as the basis for a new agreement.
A nuclear arms deal has been billed as a potential highlight of the summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Bush, which is planned to take place in Moscow and St. Petersburg starting on May 23.
But the two sides disagree about the Pentagon's plans to store, rather than destroy, hundreds of the U.S. warheads when they are removed from missiles and bombs.
Ivanov, speaking at a joint news conference with Rumsfeld after the talks at Moscow's Sheremetyevo-1 airport, did not disclose details of the new Russian proposals.
But he said they had been the subject of discussion on Monday and they would be taken up again when Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov meets Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington in the next few days.
"The American side were able to attentively study these proposals ... and comment on them during our meeting today.
"We listened to the opinions and proposals of the American side. I personally believe we have reached certain progress today," Sergei Ivanov said.
"As he (Ivanov) indicated, we are making progress, and the meetings will continue later this week in Washington," said Rumsfeld. The Defense Secretary did not refer specifically to the Russian proposals.
PROGRESS DIFFICULT TO JUDGE
It was hard to judge what progress was made, as both defense chiefs refused to give details of their talks.
Washington and Moscow have said they intend to cut their arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads each over the next decade from a current level of more than 6,000 each.
With an eye on the summit, both men were at pains to put a positive gloss on their meeting and neither would be drawn into voicing differences over Washington's plans to store warheads.
"I would stop short of making comments in public on a situation which is very delicate now," Ivanov said in reply to a reporter's question.
"It is up to the presidents to make the final decisions with respect to agreements like this ... What they decide is up to them," Rumsfeld said.
Earlier, a senior U.S. defense official made clear that Washington intended to press ahead with its plans for warhead storage.
"It's a fact of life ...," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity on board Rumsfeld's plane as it flew into Moscow from a tour of Afghanistan and Central Asia.
In reply to questions on Afghanistan and the U.S. military operations, supported by Moscow, to destroy al Qaeda networks there, Ivanov said the Russian and American positions were very close. "Slowly but surely the situation there (in Afghanistan) is stabilizing," he said.
Rumsfeld said the United States had made good on its pledge to oust the Taliban and stop al Qaeda using Afghanistan as a base from which to launch terrorist attacks across the world.
He said Afghanistan's interim government was taking steps to stabilize the country but it remained a dangerous place and the Taliban had put down roots in other places. "The task is far from over," he said.
(China Daily April 30, 2002)
