Russian newspaper RIA Novosti said the Kremlin may have jumped the gun in announcing the deal already had been signed, but:

A Kremlin source who had requested anonymity said earlier in the day the two countries had reached agreement on all the documents for a new strategic arms pact, which could be signed in Prague.

And you can bet that the teabaggers will have a lot to say about Obama visiting communist Czechoslovakia...

The Times:

The new pact would replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991, which expired in December, and would require both sides to reduce their warheads and launchers by more than one-quarter. The agreement is the most significant accomplishment so far for Mr. Obama’s policy of trying to "reset" relations with Russia. It is intended to pave the way for another more far-reaching round of reductions later in his term.

And that's been a key, all along. Earlier this month, it was reported that Obama wanted to dramatically reduce our nuclear weapons arsenal, and make our defenses based more on functional conventional weapons. Which is a visionary ideal, on many levels, from promoting non-proliferation to truly protecting our national security to saving a fiscal fortune that is being wasted on unnecessary weapons systems. It also was reported, last summer, that Obama and Medvedev wanted to take a step beyond previous arms reductions.

The Times:

Mr. Obama met at the White House on Wednesday morning with Senators John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the senior Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to brief them on the status of the treaty. To go into effect, a signed treaty would have to be ratified both by the United States Senate and by the Russian parliament.

And that's where the fun will begin. Lugar can be sensible about some foreign policy and arms issues. Particularly for a Republican. And that should help. But there's no doubt some of his colleagues will pressure him to go shrill, and claim that Obama is endangering Liz Cheney. But Lugar has a history of getting along with Obama, particularly on arms issues. Which bodes well.

Obama won the Nobel Prize precisely because of his efforts on this issue. He takes it seriously in ways many of his predecessors didn't. Getting this done, and pushing it forward, could become the greatest achievement of his presidency, and one of the most important achievements of any presidency.