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Disarmament Documentation

US Senate Approves Moscow Treaty, March 6

Note: the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty - known as the SORT or Moscow Treaty - was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush in Moscow on May 24, 2003. It specifies the reduction of operationally-deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a range of 2,200-1,700 per side by 2012. The Treaty was approved by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 5, and by the full Senate on March 6 by a vote of 95 to 0. Two proposed amendments to the adoption resolution were defeated: the first, requiring Senate approval of any US decision to withdraw from the treaty, by 50 votes to 44; the second, requiring annual reports to the Senate on treaty compliance, by 50 votes to 45.

I. Statement by President Bush

'President Bush Commends Senate for Action on Moscow Treaty', Statement by the President, March 7; The White House, Office of the Press Secretary.

I Commend the Senate's Action to Give Its Consent to Ratification of the Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions that President Putin and I signed on May 24, 2002, in Moscow, Russia. I also thank Senator Lugar and Senator Biden for their leadership in successfully negotiating a unanimous, bipartisan vote in support of the Moscow Treaty.

This historic agreement will reduce the nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia to their lowest levels in decades. The treaty will benefit both our peoples and contribute to a more secure world.

The Moscow Treaty helps lay to rest the legacies of Cold War competition and suspicion, and marks a fundamentally new era in relations between the United States and Russia. The strategic offensive reductions codified and made binding under international law in this Treaty are essential steps toward achieving greater political, economic, and security cooperation between our two countries.

Shortly after assuming office, I pledged to the American people my commitment to achieve a credible strategic deterrent with the lowest-possible number of nuclear weapons consistent with our national security needs, including our obligations to our allies. Under the Moscow Treaty, the United States and Russia will both reduce their operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level of 1700-2200 by December 31, 2012 - nearly two-thirds below current levels. At my direction, the United States has already embarked upon its reductions by starting to deactivate the Peacekeeper missiles located at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming; and, by taking the first steps to remove four sea-launched ballistic missile submarines from strategic service.

I am hopeful that the Russian Duma and Federation Council will soon give their approval to ratification, so that President Putin and I can exchange instruments of ratification and the Moscow Treaty can enter into force.

II. Statement by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Richard Lugar

'Lugar Leads Senate Ratification of Moscow Treaty', Statement from the Office of Richard Lugar (Republican), Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, March 6; http://lugar.senate.gov.

The US Senate has ratified the Moscow Treaty by a vote of 95-0. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar managed the floor debate on the treaty. The treaty will take the number of nuclear warheads in the two countries down to the lowest level in half a century.

The Foreign Relations Committee approved the treaty on February 5 (http://lugar.senate.gov/020503.html) after holding four hearings and numerous briefings. The Committee required the White House to annually report to Congress progress in the implementation of the treaty, and how the Nunn-Lugar program is being used to destroy weapons in Russia.

Since 1991, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program developed by Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn has destroyed more than 6,000 nuclear warheads and thousands of missiles and launchers in the former Soviet Union. Funding for Nunn-Lugar was held up most of last year by the Bush Administration, which contended that Russia was not living up to past treaties. Congress in late 2002 granted the President the authority to waive Nunn-Lugar funding conditions the administration used to hold up the program.

The Moscow Treaty, negotiated by Presidents Bush and Putin in May 2002, reduces operationally-deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level of between 1,700 and 2,200 by December 31, 2012. "This is a tremendous accomplishment that deserves the full support of the Senate and the Russian Duma. I believe this treaty is an important step toward a safer world," Lugar said.

"I remember well visiting the START I and START II treaty negotiations," Lugar said. "The US and the Soviet Union faced off against each other across conference tables for years. They produced multi-volume treaties and verification annexes that described in minute detail the requirements mandated by the treaties."

Lugar continued, "The Moscow Treaty recognizes that the US-Russian relationship has turned the corner. Our countries are no longer mortal enemies engaged in a worldwide Cold War. Our agreements need not be based on mutual suspicion or an adversarial relationship. We are partners in the war against terrorism and we continue to build a strong military and security partnership. The Moscow Treaty reflects the changing nature of our relationship."

III. Russian Foreign Ministry Statement

'Concerning US Senate Ratification of Russian-American Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty', Russian Foreign Ministry Statement, Document 551-07-03-2003, March 7.

Moscow welcomes the unanimous decision by US Senate to ratify the Russian-American Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty. Signed on May 24, 2002, by Presidents Vladimir Putin and George Bush, the Moscow Treaty has become a landmark agreement in the field of real and radical nuclear disarmament and a weighty practical expression of the new relations of strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the United States of America. In the current not easy international situation the Treaty serves as an example of a legal, political solution of the most complex and acute security problems through the cooperation and collective efforts of great powers in the interests of the entire world community. The Russian side is confident that after the ratification of the Moscow Treaty by the Federal Assembly of Russia and its entry into force it will become an important factor of strategic stability and global security in the international relations of the 21st century.

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