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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Russia Thursday for crucial talks on clinching a new nuclear disarmament treaty between the Cold War foes and smoothing tensions in the Middle East.

The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) expired in December and negotiators have failed to agree a successor -- to the embarrassment of two powers keen to promote a "reset" in sometimes troubled relations.

Clinton, who arrived in the early morning, will want to give a fresh push to the talks in her meetings with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and President Dmitry Medvedev amid reports the process has been hit by policy disputes.

The official reason for Clinton's two-day visit is a meeting of the Middle East diplomatic quartet, a gathering that has grown in importance after Israel announced the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in annexed East Jerusalem.

Clinton and Lavrov will meet with the other representatives of the quartet, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for dinner Thursday ahead of longer talks on Friday.

The Israeli announcement led the Palestinians to call for a halt to peace talks and precipitated the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in years, with senior US officials warning the plans jeopardized the peace process.

Washington was also piqued by the announcement's timing -- coming as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region -- and analysts said that the quartet could be expected to ramp up the pressure on Israel over the issue.

The meeting will "demonstrate international support" for indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, said US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley who is accompanying Clinton.Related article:Obama says no crisis in US-Israel relations

Clinton will also be looking for clear signs Russia could be prepared to back tough sanctions on Iran if the stalemate continues over Tehran's nuclear programme.

"We feel a sense of urgency, it's time to demonstrate that there are consequences" to Tehran's behaviour, top State Department official William Burns told reporters accompanying Clinton.

Progress on a new nuclear treaty would provide Medvedev and US President Barack Obama with much-needed proof they have succeeded in improving relations after ties became mired in distrust under ex-president George W. Bush.

Obama and Medvedev had targeted a new agreement by the end of 2009 to drastically reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles but negotiations have lumbered on in Geneva amid reports of stark differences.

The New York Times reported last week that Obama was frustrated that Medvedev was linking the disarmament treaty with a dispute on US plans to install missile defence facilities in Eastern Europe.

But Lavrov said: "I have seen no sign of something not going well."

"All the 'i's have been dotted and all that remains is diplomatic-technical work... This will take some time but is purely technical," he said according to Russian news agencies.

The Russian media has reported that the two presidents would like to sign the final agreement in an Eastern European capital before the United States hosts a nuclear security summit from April 12-13.

But even then, the document would still await parliamentary ratification. The speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament said this week MPs would not approve the disarmament accord unless it made a link with missile defence.

Signed in 1991, START led to huge reductions in the US and Russian nuclear arsenals and imposed verification measures to build trust between the two former Cold War foes.

It is unclear if Clinton will meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seen by most as still Russia's de-facto number one, having failed to see him during her last visit to Moscow in October.

AFP