St. Joseph Church
Bristol, Connecticut
Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Pastoral Minister
Strategic
Arms Reduction Talks Treaties
START III at a Glance*
Current Status:
--During their March 1997 summit meeting in Helsinki,
President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed on the basic elements of
START III.
--Although the sides have held a series of expert-level
discussions on strategic issues since Helsinki, the United States maintains that it will
not begin official negotiations on START III until after Russia has ratified START II.
Basic Elements:
--By December 31, 2007, coterminous with START II, the
United States and Russia will deploy no more than 2,000 to 2,500 strategic nuclear
warheads each on ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers.
--The United States and Russia will negotiate measures
relating to the transparency of strategic nuclear warhead inventories and the destruction
of strategic nuclear warheads as well as other jointly agreed technical and organizational
measures to promote the irreversibility of deep reductions.
--The United States and Russia will resolve issues related
to the goal of making the current START treaties unlimited in duration.
Other Issues:
--The United States and Russia agreed that in the context
of START III negotiations their experts will explore, as separate issues, possible
measures relating to nuclear long-range sea launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) and tactical
nuclear systems, to include appropriate confidence-building and transparency measures.
--The United States and Russia will also consider issues
related to transparency in nuclear materials.
* Arms Control Today. The Arms Control Association,
Washington, DC, March 1998. and
SIPRI Yearbook 1997: Armaments, Disarmament and
International Security. Oxford University Press,
Oxford, New York, 1997, pp.365-379.
Compiled by Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Created 4/29/1998
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