MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the United States will hold first round of full-fledged talks on nuclear weapons reduction between May 18 and 20 in Moscow, news agencies reported late Monday citing Russian Foreign Ministry.

    "We have agreed to hold the first round of talks between the two delegations in the full format in Moscow between May 18 and 20," the Interfax news agency quoted a statement from the ministry assaying.

    Officials from Russia and the United States have met in Rome last week for initial talks.

    After the initial talks both sides said they were satisfied with the outcomes and were optimistic about future steps in the process, which was aimed at creating a new treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) before it expires in December this year.

    The START 1, launched in 1991 and came into force in 1994, banned the production, testing and deployment of air-launched ballistic missiles, underwater launch systems for ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as orbital missiles.

    The two sides are expecting a bilateral agreement at the end of2009. According to Russian and U.S. arms control experts, the new upgraded treaty will seek to reduce arsenals to 1,500 on each side.

    It is estimated that the United States currently has at least 2,200 strategic nuclear warheads deployed and Russia has between 2000 and 3000.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton will hold further talks on the issue in Washington on May 7, the RIA Novosti news agency reported last Thursday.