Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visitis an oil field near the Siberian town of Khanty-Mansiisk on Tues., March 23, 2010. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin at left.The Associated Press
Russia and the United States will slash their nuclear arsenals by about a third - but keep more than enough warheads to wage global Armageddon - in a new arms pact to be signed next month in Prague by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev.
Russian officials said the deal was done. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said it was "very close," but that at least one more conversation between the two leaders was needed. That call was expected Thursday or Friday.
Cutting their nuclear stockpiles to roughly 1,500 warheads apiece - an arsenal that still dwarfs the combined firepower of all the rest of the world's nuclear-armed states - will complete a handshake pledge made last July when the presidents met in Moscow.
Despite months of negotiations in Geneva, the two nuclear-weapons superpowers failed to hammer out a deal by the time the previous arms reduction pact expired last December. Concluding a new agreement will lend some credence to Mr. Obama's widely applauded pledge, made last spring in Prague, "to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" - although the President hedged by adding that a nuclear- weapons-free world "will not be reached quickly - perhaps not in my lifetime.''
There would be considerable symbolism to a return to Prague for the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. As for the timing, Mr. Obama will host a nuclear summit in Washington on April 12 and 13 and a freshly signed START will add impetus to efforts to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Several reports said the treaty will be signed in the Czech capital on April 8.
Known as the Moscow Treaty, the recently expired 2002 agreement between the United States and Russia limited the number of strategic nuclear weapons to a maximum of 2,200, a cut of 60 per cent from the levels imposed by the 1991 START I treaty.
The widely expected new ceiling will be 1,500 warheads each, a level that is expected to be reached in five to seven years. Unlike the Moscow Treaty, START II will limit the number of missiles as well as warheads, and include verification and inspection procedures.
Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he will hold hearings on the treaty, which needs Senate ratification. "A well-designed treaty will send an important message to the rest of the world that America is prepared to lead efforts with key stakeholders to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons," he said.
The Russian Duma must also ratify any new arms pact.
Mr. Obama is expected to unveil a revised nuclear weapons strategy - also overdue - within the next few weeks. It is expected to retain the "first-strike" option, under which the United States reserves the right to launch an attack in order to forestall one.
Reshaping America's nuclear posture - defining what threats and which countries merit an attack with nuclear weapons - may be far more important that the number of warheads.
Progress on cutting America's nuclear arsenal may also help Mr. Obama as he seeks backing from China and Russia for new sanctions aimed at forcing Iran's ruling mullahs to scrap a nuclear program widely regarded as a weapons effort, although Tehran insists it is only interested in nuclear power.
North Korea, Pakistan, India and Israel all have defied international law to develop nuclear weapons.
Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, only the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France are allowed to have nuclear weapons.