US and Russia in new arms treaty
America and Russia have reached a long-sought agreement to slash their nuclear arsenals, President George W Bush announced today.
He said the agreement "will make the world more peaceful and liquidate the legacy of the Cold War once and for all". He said he will sign it on 24 May in Russia when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We will begin the new era of US-Russian relations," added Mr Bush.
The arms control agreement, as envisioned, would require each country to cut its nuclear arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads, from the 6,000 now allowed by the Start I treaty. Mr Bush and Mr Putin agreed to those levels last year and negotiators have been trying to work out a formal document codifying them in time for the 23-26 May summit.
US under-Secretary of State John Bolton and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov worked in Moscow in recent days on the agreement. Russia has now agreed to let the US store some of its nuclear weapons, while others will be destroyed. This had been a sticking point.
