Geneva - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is set to conduct a state visit to Switzerland next week, the government in Bern announced Monday. The Russian leader and his wife were invited by the Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of government. They would arrive Monday and spend the first day of their trip in Bern, the capital, and then tour central Switzerland the following day.
On the day of Medvedev's arrival, Russian and United States delegations are expected to meet in Geneva for a fresh round of talks on nuclear disarmament.
The cold-war era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, is set to expire in December, and both Moscow and Washington have said they want to hammer out a new deal before the current agreement runs out.
