The two negotiating delegations met for the first time in Rome to discuss the major issues the two sides wanted the treaty to cover. There were clear differences in what each side expects the treaty to accomplish. At the same time, the Obama administration worked to ensure that the central elements of the follow-on treaty and the issues that the Nuclear Posture Review was required to consider were synchronized, but equally important there was legislation that specified the issues that the review had to address. Obama remained intent on completing a treaty before the December 2009 expiration of START. Given the time constraint that the US negotiators confronted and the lengthy process that the NPR required, the administration decided to make use of previous guidance developed during the Bush administration to define the nuclear weapons requirements and the US negotiating positions. Of particular importance to the United States position was that the treaty addressed strategic offensive weapons only, as the two presidents agreed to in London. A meeting in Washington, DC, also occurred to continue the discussion of major issues of concern and potential obstacles as well as a negotiating schedule.