U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Moscow on Thursday to discuss a new strategic arms cuts deal and take part in a meeting of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators.
During her two-day visit to the Russian capital, Clinton will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks which are expected to see the working out of the final details of a long-awaited deal to replace the START 1 treaty, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, which expired on December 5.
"I'm optimistic that we'll be able to complete this agreement soon. It's a technically very complex treaty to accomplish. We share an interest in making real reductions in our strategic arsenals, and that is the most important point," Clinton said in an interview with The New Times published on Monday.
On Friday, Clinton's attention will turn to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as she joins Lavrov and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton and the Quartet's special representative, former British prime minister Tony Blair, for a meeting of the Middle East Quartet.
The meeting was originally intended as a boost to indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but these plans were wrecked when Israel announced its intention to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish families in the east Jerusalem.
In response, chief Palestinian presidential advisor Sahib Oreikat called off his visit to the Russian capital, citing the "deterioration in the situation in the Palestinian territories."
Oreikat was to have brought with him a letter for the consideration of the Quartet from the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas, outlining the Palestinian position.
MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti)
