UN boss Ban Ki-moon on Friday hailed an agreement by US and Russian leaders to hold talks on further cuts in their nuclear arsenals to replace a key arms control pact that expires late this year.
"The Secretary-General welcomes the joint statement by (Russian) President (Dmitry) Medvedev and (US) President (Barack) Obama," said a statement issued by the UN press office.
It added that Ban "believes that their leadership is vital to the process leading to the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world."
"Their agreed commitment to this goal, to fulfilling their disarmament obligations ….as well as agreeing to rapidly pursue new and verifiable reductions in their strategic offensive arsenals through the replacement of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new, legally-binding treaty, are significant undertakings," the stateent noted.
Ban also welcomed efforts by the US and Russian leaders to "overcome differences related to the deployment of missile defenses and their commitment to the further strengthening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the international regime for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery."
At their meeting in London Wednesday, Obama and Medvedev agreed to hold talks to agree slashing cuts in their nuclear arsenals to replace the START arms reduction treaty which expires at the end of the year.
The 1991 treaty limits the number of missiles and warheads that each side may have, and was the basis of Cold War strategic arms control.
US officials have not disclosed the size of the proposed cuts, but have signaled they will cover a substantial chunk of the superpower armoury.
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