The Russians have not offered to limit short-range missiles that they have deployed in Soviet Asia.

Its fundamental premise, which held throughout the cold war, was that limiting missile defenses limited offensive missiles.

Signing a treaty limiting medium-range missiles, military experts say, might result in extra spending on other nuclear forces or for conventional weapons.

Discussion of a possible second treaty, on limiting strategic missiles, is a key agenda item for the summit conference.

They also said they had made some progress on a treaty limiting strategic nuclear missiles.

A 1979 accord to limit long-range nuclear missiles was withdrawn by the Carter Administration after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

A strictly secondary goal was a new agreement limiting nuclear missiles, an area in which both superpowers spend only one-seventh of their arms budgets.

Later the United States insisted on limiting short-range missiles, which can travel 300 to 600 miles.

There are also important differences on the issue of limiting short-range missiles in Europe.

The strategic arms talks are designed to limit long-range nuclear missiles.