A new Russian-U.S. arms control treaty will...

"The treaty will soon be ready and it will not harm Russian interests," said Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff, in an interview with satellite TV channel Russia Today.

He said that the ongoing talks were tough and moving slowly but "we have reached an understanding that the parties should take each other"s interests into account."

He did not indicate exactly when the draft would be ready or when a new treaty could be ratified, but earlier in the day, a senior Russian lawmaker suggested the Russian parliament is unlikely to ratify a strategic arms reduction deal that does not include a link to missile defenses.

Officials have said an agreement between Russia and the United States to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired on December 5 last year, is nearly ready and could be struck in the next two or three weeks.

The Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, made replacing START 1, the cornerstone of

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