Nuclear disarmament talks with US "95 per cent" done - Medvedev

Negotiations between Russia and the United States to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons are "95 per cent" done, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday, according to the Interfax news agency.

However, Medvedev said Russian negotiators continue to bridle at the fact that United States has yet to clearly state its plans for a missile defence system, dpa reported.

Medvedev said he had clearly told US President Barack Obama "what will work and what will not." Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently said Russia might need to make more offensive nuclear weapons to maintain nuclear parity with the United States, because of its missile defence plans.

Nonetheless, Medvedev says he is "optimistic" about the ongoing bilateral negotiations, which are set to continue in February. The talks are to create a successor programme to the START I treaty, which expired in December. Previous weapons reduction plans have faltered because of US support for its planned missile defence system.