US President George W. Bush said he would cut by about two-thirds the US nuclear weapons stockpile, but he differed with Russian President Vladimir Putin over whether a new arms control treaty was needed and over US missile defense plans.
Mr Bush told a joint news conference with Mr Putin the United States would reduce its stockpile of deployed nuclear weapons to between 1,700 and 2,200 over the next decade.
"The current levels of our nuclear forces do not reflect today's strategic realities. I have informed President Putin that the United States will reduce our operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level between 1,700 and 2,200 over the next decade," Mr Bush said.
The United States currently has roughly 7,000 deployed strategic warheads, against about 6,000 for Russia.
Mr Putin said Russia would "try to respond in kind" to Mr Bush's announcement of plans to cut the stockpile of US nuclear warheads, but he gave no precise figures.
"We appreciate very much the decision by the president to reduce strategic offensive weapons to the limits indicated by him, and we, for our part, will try to respond in-kind," Mr Putin said.
After the news conference, both Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice said they were not troubled by the fact that Mr Putin did not announce a number for Russian nuclear reductions.
"President Putin was hearing the (US) number for the first time," Mr Powell said, adding the Russians needed time to consider it with an eye toward their own figure.
Mr Putin is on a three-day visit to the US which will include meetings at President Bush's ranch in Texas.