The World : U.S. to Shun U.N. Talks

The United States, objecting to the cost and agenda of a three-week U.N. conference, will not take part because it “thinks the international community should consider disarmament and development as two distinct issues,� said Anne Stoddard, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The United States also is urging a cut in spending for the International Conference on Disarmament and Development, estimated at $1.2 million. The conference, opening Monday, is expected to attract delegates from 125 countries. But Stoddard said the United States, whose mission is located across New York City’s First Avenue from the United Nations, will not attend.