START II and beyond
The second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II), signed by President George Bush and Russian President Boris yeltsin in January 1993, was ratified by the US Senate in January 1996 by and overwhelming vote of 87-4. The treaty, which will slash the strategic arsenals of the United States and Russia to 3,000-3,500 warheads each, is now before the two houses of the Russian Parliament (the Duma and the Federation Council) awaiting ratification amidst confusion and criticism. The Yeltsin administration supports START II and spoke in favor of Russian ratification after the Senate acted on the treaty. The Russian foreign minister and the Russian military believed that START II should be ratified as soon as possible. During the recent presidential campaign and his subsequent illness, President Yeltsin has been virtually silent on the subject of START II and nuclear force reductions. Without a push from the Yeltsin administration, the tone among Duma members, has been sharply critical of START II. Voices across the Russian political spectrum have questioned the treaty and linked it to constraints on highly capable theater missile defense (TMD) systems and the continued viability of the ABM Treaty. And urged that START II ratification be held hostage until NATO abandons its plans to expand eastward. Although the START I and START II accords have generated the momentum, opportunity and expectation-both domestic and international-for additional nuclear arms reductions, the current impasse over ratification in the Duma has cast a shadow over the future of START II and raised questions about the chances for any follow-on (START III) agreement.
- OSTI ID:
- 508709
- Journal Information:
- Arms Control Today, Journal Name: Arms Control Today Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 26; ISSN 0196-125X; ISSN ACOTEB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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