Russia and the United States may sign a...

"The wordings have been mainly agreed on, some minor disagreements remain," Sergei Prikhodko said.

Disagreements over verification and control procedures prevented Moscow and Washington from signing a new deal before the New Year break to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), which expired on December 5.

President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama ordered a speedy completion of the deal last week. A new round of talks on the treaty began on Monday.

Another Kremlin official said on condition of anonymity on Wednesday that U.S. experts close to the negotiations have named Prague as a possible venue for the signing of the deal.

"Moscow has not rejected the choice," he said. "The treaty is likely to be signed in a third country."

The Bush administration wanted to place a radar base in the Czech Republic as part of its controversial missile shield plans for Europe. Moscow considered the scheme a threat to its national

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