The pace of U.S.-Russian contacts is picking up as the two sides work toward a sweeping nuclear arms-reduction accord in time for President Bush's Moscow summit visit in May.

Officials in Washington said Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov Friday on an arms deal that could slash the two sides' nuclear arsenals by two-thirds over the next decade.

The process was given new impetus by a U.S. concession announced earlier this week by Mr. Powell, who told a Senate hearing the administration could agree to Moscow's demand that new warhead ceilings be enshrined in a legally-binding treaty or executive agreement.

News reports from Moscow say that in their Thursday conversation, Secretary Powell and Foreign Minister Ivanov agreed to finish the deal by the May summit.

However, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters here that this remains a goal rather than a commitment by the two nuclear powers.

Meanwhile, former U.S. senator Sam Nunn, who is in Moscow, is urging Washington and Moscow to flesh out their new relationship quickly or risk seeing their improved ties eroded by disputes over Iran and Iraq.

(gollust c-r, reuters, ap)

ENS/sas/ravi

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