RUSSIA and the US agreed last night to cut their nuclear warhead arsenals to as few as 1,500 each, aiming toward the lowest levels of any US-Russia arms control deal.

The initial agreement signed by presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev at a Moscow summit, is meant to guide negotiators as the nations work toward a replacement pact for the START strategic arms control reduction treaty, which expires in December.

The joint understanding, signed after about three hours of talks at the Kremlin, also commits the new treaty to lower each nation’s longer-range missiles for delivering nuclear bombs to between 500 and 1,100.

Under current treaties, each country is allowed a maximum of 2,200 warheads and 1,600 launch vehicles.

A White House statement said the new treaty “will include effective verification measures.”

“The new agreement will enhance the security of both the US and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability,” the statement said.

The leaders also announced several other deals meant to show progress toward repairing badly damaged US-Russian relations, including Moscow allowing the United States to transport arms across its land and airspace into Afghanistan for the war there.