US, Russia to meet nuclear treaty obligations, US says

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. and Russia are likely to meet a key Feb. 5 nuclear arms reduction treaty deadline, the State Department said Thursday.

"The United States has met the central limits of the New Start Treaty in August, 2017. We assess at this time that Russia has also progressed toward meeting those limits," spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

The U.S. "has no reason" to believe Moscow will not meet its own obligation by Monday, Nauert said.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, sets central limits for Moscow and Washington's nuclear weapons stockpiles, capping deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched missiles and heavy bombers at 700, setting the maximum number of deployed nuclear weapons at 1,550, and limiting deployed and non-deployed ICBMs, submarine-launched missiles and bombers at 800.

Russia and the U.S. will exchange data over the next month on their nuclear arsenals, according to Nauert.

"We hope each country will confirm the compliance of the other as soon as possible after this data exchange, and then we'll hopefully have an update for you on the fifth, with additional information," she said.