Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton have discussed the new arms cuts treaty and the upcoming Mideast quartet meeting in Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The two diplomats held a telephone conversation on Thursday.

"A number of vital issues regarding a new strategic arms reductions pact have been discussed during a bilateral dialogue," the ministry said.

Lavrov and Clinton also discussed the upcoming meeting of the Quartet of international mediators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which will be held in Moscow on March 19, and Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday during his official visit to France that Russia and the United States are close to completing negotiations on a new treaty on strategic arms cuts, and expressed the hope that the document could be signed soon.

The talks will continue on March 9 in Geneva.

Russia and the United States have been negotiating a replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty since the two countries' presidents met in April last year, but finalizing a document has dragged on, with U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe a particular sticking point. START 1, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, expired on December 5.

Lavrov has repeatedly made statements suggesting that a new nuclear arms cuts deal should be linked to Washington's missile plans in Eastern Europe.

Many experts believe, however, that the Russian demand would probably not be satisfied as the U.S. Senate is unlikely to approve any document containing a formal linkage between the arms cuts and the missile shield.

Obama scrapped plans last year for interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic pursued by his predecessor as protection against possible Iranian strikes in an apparent move to ease Russian security concerns.

In February, however, Romania and Bulgaria said they were in talks with the Obama administration on deploying elements of the U.S. missile shield on their territories from 2015, triggering an angry reaction from Moscow.

MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti)