Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (Moscow Treaty)

On May 24, 2002, President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin signed the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (the Moscow Treaty) in Moscow, Russia. On March 6, 2003, the United States Senate gave its unanimous advice and consent to ratification of the Moscow Treaty. The Treaty entered into force on June 1, 2003, when the United States and the Russian Federation exchanged instruments of ratification in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Moscow Treaty will remain in force until December 31, 2012, and may be extended by agreement of the Parties or superseded earlier by a subsequent agreement.

This legally-binding Treaty codifies the deep reductions announced by President Bush during the November 2001 Washington/Crawford Summit and by President Putin at that Summit and a month later at a meeting between the Presidents in Washington. The Treaty is part of the new strategic framework established by the United States and the Russian Federation. The framework includes a broad array of cooperative efforts in political, economic, and security areas, and marks a new era in our bilateral relationship.

Treaty Provisions

The Treaty requires each country to reduce and limit its strategic nuclear warheads to 1700-2200 by December 31, 2012 -- a level nearly two-thirds below current levels. Each side may determine for itself the composition and structure of its strategic forces consistent with this limit. A Bilateral Implementation Commission will meet at least twice a year to discuss issues related to the Treaty.

Relationship to the START Treaty

The five-Party (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) of 1991 continues in force without amendment. START’s comprehensive verification regime will provide the foundation for transparency and predictability regarding implementation of the bilateral Moscow Treaty. As noted in the Joint Declaration on the New Strategic Relationship issued in Moscow on May 24, 2002, the United States and the Russian Federation will continue to explore additional ways to enhance transparency and predictability. Presidents Bush and Putin reiterated this objective at the Camp David Summit in September, 2003.

U.S. Reduction Plans

As outlined in the 2002 Department of Defense’s Nuclear Posture Review, the United States will continue to deploy land-, sea-, and air-based strategic forces. The United States plans to meet its Moscow Treaty commitment by making reductions in the number of operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads in each component of the strategic force. In the near term, the United States will retire its 50 Peacekeeper ICBMs, remove four Trident submarines from strategic service, and no longer maintain the ability to return the B-1 bomber force to nuclear service. Additional specific steps to reduce the number of U.S. operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to the 1700-2200 level will be taken in the future, including missile downloading and reducing the number of operationally deployed weapons at heavy bomber bases. The United States considers operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to be reentry vehicles on ICBMs in their launchers, reentry vehicles on SLBMs in their launchers onboard submarines, and nuclear armaments loaded on heavy bombers or stored in weapons storage areas of heavy bomber bases. In addition, a small number of spares will be stored at heavy bomber bases; these are not considered operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads.