The Associated Press

Russia's President Dimity Medvedev speaks during an award ceremony in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Monday, July 13, 2009. (AP / RIA Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service)

MOSCOW — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow and Washington can sign a new nuclear arms control deal before year's end.

Medvedev says the U.S.-Russian arms control talks have been going at a good pace. He told Der Spiegel magazine in remarks released by the Kremlin on Saturday that the two nations could sign a legally binding agreement by the end of the year.

Moscow and Washington are negotiating a successor deal to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires on Dec. 5. The nuclear arms control talks have been a major part of efforts to overcome a strain in U.S.-Russian ties.

Russian and U.S. diplomats are set to launch another round of negotiations in Geneva on Monday. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has voiced hope it would be conclusive.