For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 24, 2002
Fact Sheet: Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions
Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions
Today, President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin signed the
Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions. Under this Treaty,
the United States and Russia will reduce their strategic nuclear
warheads to a level of 1700-2200 by December 31, 2012, a level nearly
two-thirds below current levels.
This new, legally-binding Treaty codifies the deep reductions
announced by President Bush during the November 2001 Washington/
Crawford Summit and by President Putin at that Summit and a month
later. It is part of the new strategic framework that the United
States and Russia have established. This framework includes a broad
array of cooperative efforts in political, economic, and security
areas, and marks a new era in our bilateral relationship.
Treaty Provisions
The Treaty requires each country to reduce and limit its strategic
nuclear warheads to 1700-2200 by December 31, 2012. Each side may
determine for itself the composition and structure of its strategic
forces consistent with this limit. A Bilateral Implementation
Commission will meet at least twice a year to discuss issues related to
the Treaty.
Ratification Process
The Treaty will be transmitted to the United States Senate for its
advice and consent to ratification; in Russia, the two Chambers of the
Federal Assembly must approve a bill on its ratification. Once this
process is completed in both countries, the United States and Russia
will exchange instruments of ratification and the Treaty will enter
into force. It will remain in force until December 31, 2012, and may
be extended or replaced with a subsequent agreement.
Relationship to START
The five-Party Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) of 1991
continues in force unchanged. (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine,
and the United States are Parties to START.) START's comprehensive
verification regime will provide the foundation for transparency and
predictability regarding implementation of the new bilateral Treaty.
As noted in the Joint Declaration on the New Strategic Relationship
also issued today in Moscow, the United States and Russia also will
continue discussions to explore additional ways to enhance transparency
and predictability.
U.S. Reduction Plans
As outlined in the Department of Defense's Nuclear Posture Review
submitted to Congress earlier this year, the United States plans to
retire all 50 of its ten-warhead Peacekeeper ICBMs and convert four
Trident submarines from strategic to conventional service. Additional
steps to reduce the number of U.S. operationally deployed strategic
nuclear warheads to the 1700-2200 level will be decided subsequently.
Some of the warheads which are removed from deployment will be used
as spares, some will be stored, and some will be destroyed. The United
States will continue to deploy land-, sea- and air-based strategic
forces.
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