Third round of START talks begin

U.S. and Russian diplomats this week launched a third round of talks aimed at negotiating a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, Agence France-Presse reported. The nations are likely to pursue cutbacks to their nuclear arsenals, said Daryl Kimball of the Ploughshares-funded Arms Control Association. "Current U.S. and Russian nuclear capabilities are out of step with present day realities," Kimball stated. "Massive nuclear arsenals that are capable of annihilating entire nations within an hour are more of a liability than an asset because they breed mistrust and worst case assumptions among other states."