Maybe the first step in Russian-American nuclear talks should be a “Continuing Resolution,” i.e., a simple renewal of START verification measures.
Pavel Podvig quite credibly “suggests”:http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/pavel-podvig/reaction-to-the-obama-medvedev-joint-statement-arms-control that more ambitious undertakings will be tough to achieve by December, when START expires. Perhaps it’s better to take the time to get it right.
Meanwhile, nobody needs a gap in the existing verification regime.