13:12 GMT, April 24, 2009 ROME | The first round of Russian-U.S. consultations on a new strategic arms reductions treaty began in Rome on Friday.

The Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START 1), signed in 1991, obliges Russia and the U.S. to reduce nuclear warheads to 6,000 and their delivery vehicles to 1,600 each. The treaty expires on December 5 this year.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller and Russia's Anatoly Antonov, the director of the Foreign Ministry's department for security and disarmament, are leading the negotiations.

The director of the North American Department at the Foreign Ministry, Igor Neverov, told RIA Novosti on Thursday that the discussions would continue on May 7 in Washington at a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Earlier in the week during an official visit to Helsinki, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the new deal to replace START-1 must also cover delivery systems.

In 2002, a follow-up agreement on strategic offensive arms reduction was concluded in Moscow. The agreement, known as the Moscow Treaty, envisioned cuts to 1,700-2,200 warheads by December 2012.

Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed during their London meeting earlier this month on an immediate start to talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty.