The United States and Russia agreed today that an expiring nuclear arms reduction treaty will remain in force while talks continue on replacing it, the White House said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the extension will be indefinite as the two sides work to overcome differences. Negotiations have been proceeding in Switzerland on replacing the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
"They are going to continue working through the next 24 hours," Gibbs told reporters. "I think it's unlikely that in that 24 hours all the issues that remain outstanding are resolved. So in the event that that happens, we'll put out a statement that carries us over in a sense as they continue to negotiate."
He said the indefinite extension "will simply maintain where the agreement has been for the last 15 or 20 years."
It was unclear when or where US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitri Medvedev would sign an agreement in the event one is reached.
Reuters