example of the pace of our talks, since I returned from Washington on Monday morning, I have met on seven different occasions with my distinguished and capable counterpart, Yuri Nazarkin. Now, I would like to highlight briefly some of the areas of progress as well as some of the additional issues being discussed here in Geneva. First, while Ambassador Smith will discuss the status of the defence and space talks, let me just say that at the ministerial meeting last year in Wyoming, the Soviets made an important, positive step in the area of linkage. In February at the Moscow ministerial, the Soviets clarified their position by stating that, while it is their preference to include agreed statements to the START treaty regarding withdrawal should a party abrogate or withdraw from the ABM Treaty, it is not a pre-condition for agreement in START. This removes a fundamental obstacle to achieving and implementing a START agreement. The issue of what comes after a START treaty has also become a key topic for Ambassador Nazarkin and me. At the Moscow meetings earlier this year, Secretary Baker and Minister Shevardnadze authorized us to begin such a dialogue. The Soviets have made proposals for such discussions - which some have begun to call "nuclear and space talks II" or NST II - although the details of what would be covered by such follow-on negotiations are unclear at this stage. The issue of cruise missiles has proven to be a very difficult and vexing issue. The sides made great strides toward resolving the issues of both air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) and sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) at the Moscow ministerial earlier this year. These discussions continued in Geneva and at the Washington meetings last week. New problems have emerged, but I remain hopeful that the remaining technical differences on these issues 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing diplomatic talks and negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding defense and space issues. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting a focus on strategic and international relations. The topics discussed, such as the ABM Treaty, START treaty, and cruise missiles, are all related to military and defense matters.

**Category**
Science and technology, International relations