U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States is willing to commit itself to a new, legally-binding arms control agreement with Russia that would reduce their nuclear arsenals by as much as 75 percent.
Washington had earlier insisted on an informal agreement to cover the arms cuts, but on Tuesday Mr. Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Washington is "hard at work" crafting the new document.
The United States has already told Russia it it intends to pull out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to make way for deployment of a national anti-missile defense system.
Russia has opposed that move, but new arms control cuts could clear away that opposition. President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone Tuesday. They are expected to meet in Russia in May.
Reports from Russia say Presidents Bush and Putin could finalize the new arms control document at the summit. American and Russian delegations are set to meet again in Moscow later this month.