MOSCOW, March 6 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed over phone negotiations on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The telephone conversation occurred on Thursday, during which \”a number of vital issues regarding a new strategic arms reductions pact have been discussed,\” said the ministry in a statement on its website.

Lavrov and Clinton \”considered issues requiring priority attention to finish work on the treaty,\” it said.

The latest round of arms talks is set to open on Tuesday.

They also discussed the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Mideast Quartet for peace on March 19, as well as \”the situation surrounding Iran\’s nuclear program.\”

The quartet, which is dedicated to searching for peace in the Middle East, comprises Russia, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.

Russia and the United States last year began talks on a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired on Dec. 5, but they failed to reach a deal before the end of 2009.

An outline of the new deal, agreed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama last July, includes cutting the number of nuclear warheads each country has to between 1,500 and 1,675.

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MOSCOW, March 6 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed over phone negotiations on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The telephone conversation occurred on Thursday, during which \”a number of vital issues regarding a new strategic arms reductions pact have been discussed,\” said the ministry in a statement on its website.

Lavrov and Clinton \”considered issues requiring priority attention to finish work on the treaty,\” it said.

The latest round of arms talks is set to open on Tuesday.

They also discussed the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Mideast Quartet for peace on March 19, as well as \”the situation surrounding Iran\’s nuclear program.\”

The quartet, which is dedicated to searching for peace in the Middle East, comprises Russia, the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.

Russia and the United States last year began talks on a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired on Dec. 5, but they failed to reach a deal before the end of 2009.

An outline of the new deal, agreed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama last July, includes cutting the number of nuclear warheads each country has to between 1,500 and 1,675.

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