Moscow is set against extending the key nuclear arms treaty that expires in 2009, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"The limits set in the existing accord have all been met and exceeded, both we and the Americans have in reality far fewer (missiles) than the existing accord allows," Lavrov said as quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.

"So extending it further would mean sending a wrong signal that one can build arms now, and that is wrong," Lavrov explained.

The Cold War-era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed between the US and the Soviet Union expires in December 2009, and Washington and Moscow have been seeking to thrash out terms of a new accord.

The 1991 treaty limits the number of missiles and warheads that each side may have and is a cornerstone of Cold War strategic arms control.