MOSCOW, June 29 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump had asked their foreign ministries to begin talks on the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

But it is too early to tell whether the negotiations will help extend the key arms-control treaty, Putin told a press conference summarizing his participation at the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Japan, where he met with Trump.

The New START agreement was signed between the United States and Russia in 2010 and went into effect the following year. The pact, which will expire in 2021, envisages the two countries halving the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers by Feb. 5, 2018.

Putin said he also discussed the situation in Venezuela during the meeting with Trump, according to video footage of the press conference published on the Kremlin website.

【国际英语资讯:Russian, U.S. diplomats to negotiate on New START extension: Putin】相关文章：

★ 缅甸是金矿还是陷阱？

★ 熊猫粪便垒成的“维纳斯”卖出高价

★ 中国商务部：美国会报告没有依据

★ 美国不会跌落财政悬崖

★ 美联储量化宽松政策的另一个好处

★ 泰国前总理阿披实面临谋杀指控

★ 双语：天桥骄子主持客串绯闻女孩第四季

★ 石原慎太郎将辞去东京都知事一职

★ 透明国际行贿调查 马来西亚排名垫底

★ 男性比女性更易获得“热门”职位