Why Prime Minister Putin may be throwing a wrench in US-Russia arms talks

Russia Prime Minister Putin said there were problems with arms talks aimed at finalizing a new strategic arms reduction deal. Is it a hardball tactic or a bid to derail the negotiations altogether?

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Though the December deadline for finalizing that deal has already expired, President Dmitri Medvedev declared last week that it was all but ready to sign.

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"Our positions are very close and almost all the issues we have been discussing are almost closed," Medvedev said. "I hope we'll be able to finish it in quite a short period of time."

But Putin's objection does not seem something that could be easily or quickly overcome.

Moscow had earlier suggested it was sufficiently mollified by President Barack Obama's decision to shelve Bush-era plans to deploy antimissile systems
in Poland and the Czech Republic to proceed with work on the new treaty that would replace the 1991 START accord.

Though exact details are not known, the new agreement is projected to modestly cut the nuclear arsenals of each side to a maximum of around 1,600 strategic warheads deployed on no more than 1,000 delivery vehicles.

The deal would not prohibit either side from developing new and more sophisticated offensive missiles, provided they remained within the ceilings stipulated by the treaty.

Experts say they're not sure what Putin was referring to when he pledged to build "a new offensive capacity" if the US doesn't give ground on missile defense.

Russia has been developing a powerful new submarine-launched ballistic missile, the Bulava, for several years. But the missile has flubbed eight out of 12 recent test launches, including a spectacular failure this month that may have caused a spate of alleged UFO sightings in Norway.

Under development is also a multi-warhead version of Russia's Topol-M mobile land-based missile, known as the RS-24, and a possible new heavy intercontinental missile to replace the old Soviet-era SS-18s, the current mainstay of Russia's nuclear deterrent.

"None of these weapons projects are new," says Golts. "I think the most important conclusion we can draw from Putin's remarks is a political one, that he has decided to create some complications for the nuclear arms talks. It's not clear where this will lead."