US and Russia finalise new nuclear arms treaty

WASHINGTON: The United States and Russia on Friday concluded a landmark nuclear arms treaty which imposes sweeping cuts on deployed Cold War-era nuclear warheads and missiles, the White House said.

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev concluded the deal to replace the START nuclear treaty in a telephone call Friday and will sign the new pact in Prague on April 8.

Obama was set to make a statement on the new treaty, which hands him a badly needed foreign policy achievement, and a dividend for his decision to "reset" US relations with Moscow, at 10:45 (1445 GMT) the White House said.

The new deal will specify limits of 1,550 deployed warheads, which is about 30 percent lower than a previous upper warhead limit set in 2002.

The treaty, which must be ratified by the US Senate and the Russian Duma, will limit missile forces to 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, submarine launched ballistic missile launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons.

The cap on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles will be set at 700, the White House said.