US and Russia agree pact on nuclear arms reduction

THE UNITED States and Russia have agreed on a long awaited treaty to cut nuclear arms and their leaders will sign it in Prague on April 8th.

The White House and the Kremlin announced that the pact had been finalised after a telephone call yesterday between US president Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, who pledged last July to cut their countries’ nuclear arsenals by about one-third.

The new treaty will replace a 1991 treaty which expired in December, and reduce US and Russian deployed warheads to 1,550 from the 2,200 allowed. It will also cap numbers of intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers equipped for carrying nuclear weapons.

“In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time,” said Mr Obama at the White House. “Today, we have taken another step forward in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children.”

Mr Obama, who made nuclear arms reduction a priority of his presidency, said the pact showed that the US and Russia intend to lead. “By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities.”

Washington wants Moscow to support its bid to increase pressure on Iran over a nuclear programme which the US fears will be used to make weapons. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said the treaty also showed North Korea that any attempt to make nuclear weapons would not be tolerated.

Talks on the new pact were complicated by Russian anger over US plans to build a missile defence system in central Europe to neutralise the perceived threat of Iranian rocket attack.

“The mutual linkage between strategic offensive and strategic defensive weapons will be fixed in a legally binding manner”, the Kremlin said of a treaty which “marks the transfer of Russian-US co-operation to a higher level in the development of new strategic ties”. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the agreement gave “both sides . . . corresponding levels of strategic offensive and defensive systems”.

He added: “Any change to these levels gives each country the right to decide the question of whether it will continue to take part in the process of further reductions of strategic arms.”

US defence secretary Robert Gates insisted “missile defence is not constrained by this treaty”. Analysts suggest that Republicans could block ratification of the deal if it placed limitations on the Pentagon’s missile defence plans.

The pact is seen as part of Mr Obama’s effort to “reset” ties with Moscow. But the US also sought to soothe any unease among Russia’s neighbours by announcing military assistance programmes with Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia and Hungary.