Philip Crowley praises new Russia-U.S. arms reduction treaty

The Russian and U.S. leaders, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, agreed Friday that the new arms cuts pact will be signed on April 8 in Prague. The treaty will replace START 1, the cornerstone of a post-Cold War arms control setup, which expired on December 5, 2009.

Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley told a daily press briefing on Friday following the two presidents' phone conversation that the new pact "demonstrates the special responsibility and leadership of the United States and Russia, since we collectively have more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons."

"It also demonstrates the improving and productive nature of our relationship with Russia," Crowley said.

In line with the new arms reduction agreement, the number of nuclear warheads is to be reduced to 1,550 on each side. The number of delivery vehicles - deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons - must not exceed 800 on each side.

The treaty, to have a validity term of ten years unless it is superseded by another strategic arms reduction agreement, stipulates that strategic offensive weapons are to be based solely on the national territories of Russia and the United States.

Although the deal will establish the link between missile defense and offensive weapons, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the treaty, when ratified, will not prevent the U.S. from "improving and deploying" its missile defense elements in Europe, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.