Russia, United States sign new arms reduction treaty
PRAGUE. April 8. KAZINFORM The Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, signed on Thursday a new treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons to replace the START 1 treaty, which expired in December 2009.
The document is expected to bring Moscow and Washington to a new level of cooperation in the areas of nuclear disarmament and arms control.
"Together we start on that path and prove the benefits of cooperation. Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation and for U.S.-Russian relations," Obama said at the signing ceremony in Prague.
The new strategic arms pact stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads is to be reduced to 1, 550 on each side, while the number of operational and stockpiled delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on each side.
Under the deal, which will be valid for 10 years unless superseded by another agreement, strategic offensive weapons will not be based on the territory of any third country.
Speaking after the signing of the documents, both presidents emphasized the importance of the document for nuclear security and for Russian-U.S. relations and pledged to work with lawmakers to ensure timely ratification of the documents by both sides, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
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