Pentagon prepares for inspections under New START

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will exchange ratification documents on February 5 at the Munich Security Conference, Defence Secretary Robert Gates' representative to the treaty negotiations Edward L. Warner, said.

He said that within 60 days of the treaty's entry into force, both nations would have the right to conduct short-notice inspections of each other's nuclear facilities.

In late December 2010, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller said Russia had provided the United States with a list of 35 nuclear sites for inspection under the New START treaty.

Warner stressed that aach nation is allowed 18 short-notice inspections a year over 10 years, he added, "giving both sides the opportunity to confirm that the other side is complying with the provisions of the treaty."

He recalled that No inspections have taken place in either nation since START I expired in December 2009, he said, noting that the first START treaty represented "an enormous step forward in verification."

The United States and Russia -- or its predecessor, the Soviet Union -- have signed a variety of strategic arms treaties going back to the early 1970s, Warner said. START I was signed in 1991 and ratified and entered into force in 1994. The Moscow Treaty in 2002 built on START I and lowered critical limits, particularly on deployed warheads, Warner said, noting that it expires in 2012; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

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