U.S., Russia Vow To Reduce Nuke Arsenals

The United States and Russia pledged Tuesday to reduce their stockpiles of long-range nuclear weapons "to the lowest possible" level, although they have not yet agreed on specific numbers.

"We have a way to go in our discussion," U.S. envoy Robert G. Joseph said at a news conference.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Kislyak said "it would be too early to announce" new and lower limits on arsenals of long-range nuclear warheads. "We haven't agreed on that."

As an outgrowth of the latest round of talks between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two countries also said they were fully committed to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons technology.

A pivotal 1991 treaty called for reduction of long-range U.S. and Russian nuclear missiles by about one-third, or to a maximum of 6,000 deployed strategic warheads, apiece. It is due to expire in December 2009.

The 2002 Moscow treaty went further, calling on each side to reduce its operationally deployed strategic warheads to 1,700 to 2,220.

In an exchange of data last January, the Russians claimed to have 4,162 strategic warheads, and the United States claimed 5,866 in the U.S. arsenal.

The Moscow treaty, which expires in December 2012, sets a limit of 1,700 to 2,200 operationally deployed warheads on each side.

A senior Republican senator, Richard Lugar, who specializes in arms control, urged Mr. Bush before his talks Monday with Putin in Kennebunkport, Maine, to make sure the 1991 treaty was extended with binding language.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the two sides intended to carry out strategic offensive reductions "to the lowest possible level consistent with their national security requirements and alliance commitments."

The countries will work toward developing an arrangement "to provide continuity and predictability" about their arsenals, the brief statement said.

Mr. Bush and Putin instructed the two sides to produce "early results," the statement said.

So far, Joseph said, "We haven't come to agreement on what will replace START," while Kislyak said it has not yet been determined whether there will be a successor treaty or the ceilings that might be placed on warhead totals.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the private Arms Control Association, said, "the two countries still possess bloated Cold War arsenals." In an interview, he called on Mr. Bush and Putin to "not simply promise deeper reductions" but "to set the table to pursue cuts well below current levels, which they did not."

He said a more ambitious approach was vital "especially given Russia's concerns" about U.S. plans to install missile interceptors in Europe.

On other weapons issues, a declaration released with the joint statement said the United States and Russia would seek the cooperation of other countries to guard against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The declaration also said that the U.S. and Russia would expand their cooperation in the field of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.