Russian, US diplomats to meet on endangered missile treaty

A top Russian diplomat says he and his American counterpart are set to meet Tuesday to discuss the dispute over a Cold War-era arms control treaty that Washington has threatened to abandon.

Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying he would sit down with Undersecretary of State Andrea Thompson in Geneva.

The meeting concerns the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The 1987 pact between the United States and the Soviet Union bans production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range between 310 and 3,410 miles.

From staff and wire reports