The arms talks are to begin here on March 9.

I often think of this when a new round of arms talks is announced.

To speed the arms talks, the two leaders said they would hold a summit meeting in Moscow only after the treaty was done.

"We thought it was important to give a push to the conventional arms talks," an Administration official said.

"The strategic arms talks can go at their own rate."

The pace of the strategic arms talks is not the only issue on which the President appears to have changed his thinking.

When that deployment began in 1983, Moscow walked out of the arms talks.

The arms talks and Russia's economic troubles are closely linked.

Both go to the core of the arms talks.

The decision is likely to have a generally positive effect on the strategic arms talks.