Demise of key nuclear pact looms as US, Russia meet

FILE - In this Monday, July 16, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. Throughout 2018, special cnvestigator Robert Mueller’s team investigated whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia ahead of the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed the investigation. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is demanding that Russia comply with arms control treaties as the formal demise of a key Cold War-era nuclear pact looms in just two weeks.

At a meeting in Switzerland on Wednesday, U.S. diplomats told their Russian counterparts that complete compliance with such treaties must be verifiable.

But the head of Russia’s delegation said there was “no rapprochement” on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which expires on Aug. 2.

The pact has been a cornerstone of international security since 1987. But Moscow and Washington have for years traded claims of the other party being in violation and the Trump administration announced plans to pull out.

The U.S. is also considering whether to renew another arms control treaty, New START, when it expires in two years.