US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have finalized an historic new deal to cut long-range nuclear arms, agreeing to slash the number of deployed warheads by a third.
After months of intense negotiations, the pair sealed what Obama called “the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades,” as they hailed improved ties that hit a low under former US president George W. Bush.
The new pact, due to be signed on April 8 in Prague by both the presidents of the former Cold War foes, replaces the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expired in December.
In the Czech capital last year, Obama unveiled a plan to purge the world of atomic weapons by cutting stockpiles, curtailing testing, choking fissile production and securing loose nuclear material.
Obama — standing on Friday next to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other key officials — said that the new START treaty was a “fundamental part of that effort” for a nuclear-free world.
He said the deal also advances his priority to “reset” ties between the two countries, which have deepened cooperation on the US-led war against Muslim extremists in Afghanistan and on efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In Moscow, the Kremlin said “the presidents agreed that the new treaty marks the transfer of Russian-US cooperation to a higher level in the development of new strategic ties.”
Reaction around the world was largely positive. In Brussels, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the new nuclear arms reduction deal would not only “contribute to a safer world, it will also give impetus to cooperation with Russia in other fields.”
In the US, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said that the treaty would send a message to the rest of the world “that the United States and Russia are serious about reducing the nuclear threat.” Obama said the treaty “significantly reduces” US and Russian missiles and launchers, and sets up a “strong and effective” verification regime.
It specifies limits of 1,550 deployed warheads, which is about 30 percent lower than a previous upper warhead limit set in 2002.
The UCS said the new treaty counts each deployed missile warhead as one, and each deployed bomber as one warhead, and under these rules, currently the US has 1,762 warheads and Russia has 1,741.
“The treaty does not cover the thousands of warheads both countries have in storage,” it said.
The treaty limits missile forces to 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, submarine launched ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons.
The cap on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles is set at 700, the White House said.
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