Official: Russia-U.S. arms deal likely early 2010

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top military officer says that Moscow and Washington are likely to sign a new nuclear arms control deal early next year.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov says that Russian and U.S. negotiators have reached agreement on most issues relating to the deal, which would succeed the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expired Dec. 5.

But he said Monday that some of the issues are yet to be resolved, including the exchange of missile launch data.

Makarov is the chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.

President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev conceded during their meeting Friday that they were unlikely to sign the pact this year as they had hoped, but struck an optimistic tone.