U.S., Russia aim to cut nuclear warheads to 1500-1675

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States and Russia agreed on Monday an aim of cutting deployed nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675 within seven years of a new arms reduction agreement coming into force.

The pledge by U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev puts the world's two biggest nuclear powers further along the path to finding a replacement for the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) which expires on December 5.

But the cuts would only take the United States and Russia 25 operationally deployed warheads below the 1,700-2,200 range which both sides agreed to reach by 2012 under the 2002 Moscow Treaty.

"The Joint Understanding commits the United States and Russia to reduce their strategic warheads to a range of 1,500-1,675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1,100," the White House said in a statement.

"These numbers reflect a new level of reductions of strategic offensive arms and delivery vehicles that will be lower than those in any existing arms control agreements."

The deal, which said the limits would come into force seven years after a new treaty is signed, was agreed during talks between Obama and Medvedev in the Kremlin.

Estimates of current nuclear stockpiles vary but the U.S.-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists estimated that at the start of 2009 the United States had around 2,200 operationally deployed nuclear warheads and Russia around 2,790.

"The new treaty will include effective verification measures drawn from the experience of the parties in implementing START," the White House statement said.

"The new agreement will enhance the security of both the U.S. and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces," the statement said.

(Reporting by Oleg Shchedrov, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Michael Stott)