A round of Russia-U.S. talks on a nuclear arms control deal had concluded and the next round would start on March 9, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing a source with Russia's mission in Geneva.

Russian negotiators left for home last weekend after the end of the talks, which were followed by a technical and political break, the source said.

"The negotiations will continue on March 9," the source was quoted as saying.

Russia and the United States began in Geneva last year talks on a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired on Dec. 5, but they failed to reach a deal before the end of 2009.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's top foreign policy aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said on Friday that a new nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States could be signed in March or April.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that a new arms treaty could be hammered out in the near future if both countries faithfully adhere to agreements reached by their presidents.

An outline of the new arms deal, agreed to by Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama last July, includes cutting the number of nuclear warheads each country has to between 1,500 and 1,675.

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