GENEVA -- Senior American and Russian arms control experts began fresh talks expected to focus on a proposed U.S. national missile defense system that would require changes in a major treaty, diplomatic sources said.


John Holum, senior arms adviser at the State Department, was expected to press U.S. proposals to modify the landmark Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in his closed-door talks with Russian counterpart Yury Kapralov, they added.


A U.S. spokesman confirmed that the three-day talks - which were not announced by either side - began in Geneva on Tuesday afternoon.