Russia differs with the United States on the extension of a strategic arms control treaty and the two sides are expected to draft a new document in 2009, Russian news agencies reported on Monday.

"Washington believes that we need to move forward by developing and perfecting the Moscow treaty on strategic offensive reductions(SORT). Moscow disagrees with that and suggests using START-1 (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) as a basis by sticking to its strategic offensive arms control measures," Interfax cited an anonymous military source as saying.

Moscow and Washington, however, have agreed to draft a new document by the end of 2009, the high-ranking official was quoted as saying when commenting on a bilateral talks held in Washington last week on the control of strategic offensive arms.

Russia-US relations were soured by arrays of disputes, including differences on a US plan to deploy missile shield components in Central Europe, as well as on the extension of the START-1 which expires in 2012.

Analysts here pinned some hope for the improvement of bilateral ties on next month's farewell meeting between US President George W. Bush and his outgoing Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who is to step down in May, in Russia's Black Sea resort Sochi.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2008)