Russia, U.S. leaders discuss arms pact, Iran

By Oleg Shchedrov

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Russian and U.S. presidents said on Sunday they hoped to strike a new deal for arms cuts by the end of the year.

After talks in Singapore as part of efforts to "reset" relations between the two countries, officials on both sides acknowledged unresolved problems in the talks on a new arms pact to replace START I, which expires in December.

"I hope that, as we agreed earlier ... we can finalise the treaty by December," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Singapore.

The two leaders view the new treaty as an important element of maintaining global strategic stability and healing relations which sank to post-Cold War lows during the presidency of Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush.

Officials expressed optimism that a new document could be ready by the time or soon after the START I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) arms cuts pact expires on Dec. 5.

"On the new START Treaty, we progressed," Michael McFaul, senior White House adviser said after Sunday's meeting.

"We talked about some sticking issues that still have to be resolved and both presidents committed to trying to get a new treaty in place by the end of the year.

"They said that publicly and that was a big part of the discussions on the substance of that treaty," he told reporters.