US, Russia Reportedly Agree to Nuclear Arms Treaty

The United States and Russia have reached an agreement on "all documents" necessary to sign a new nuclear arms treaty, a senior Kremlin official said today, and the White House said the two nations are "very close" to signing it. President Obama spent an hour today in the White House briefing Senate Foreign Relations Committee honchos John Kerry and Richard Lugar on the effort to ratify the treaty. Czech officials announced that Prague will host the treaty's signing, but didn't give a date.

The treaty would reduce both countries' long-range nuclear weapon arsenal, replacing the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Robert Gibbs and the Kremlin official said a final agreement is not likely until Obama and Dmitry Medvedev speak again, most likely in the coming days. Negotiations, which have been under way in Geneva, are centered on disputes over verification measures and Russia's objection to US missile defense plans for Europe. (More Russia stories.)