DeAnne
Mike CrowlUS & Russia cooperation
July 6th 2009 22:25
On April 1, Presidents Obama and Medvedev agreed in London that America and Russian negotiators would begin work on a new, comprehensive, legally binding agreement on reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires on December 5, 2009.
On July 6, Presidents Medvedev and Obama signed a Joint Understanding to guide the remainder of the negotiations. The Joint Understanding commits the United States and Russia to reduce their strategic warheads to a range of 1500-1675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1100. Under the expiring START and the Moscow treaties the maximum allowable levels of warheads is 2200 and the maximum allowable level of launch vehicles is 1600.
These numbers reflect a new level of reductions of strategic offensive arms and delivery vehicles that will be lower than those in any existing arms control agreements. The new treaty will include effective verification measures drawn from the experience of the Parties in implementing START. The new agreement will enhance the security of both the U.S. and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces. A follow-on agreement to START directly supports the goals outlined by the President during his speech in Prague and will demonstrate Russian and American leadership in strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The U.S. and Russian negotiating teams met in April, May, June, and July, and will continue their work toward finalizing an agreement for signature and ratification at the earliest possible date.
The two Presidents agreed to create a Bilateral Presidential Commission, which they will chair and Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov will coordinate. The Commission will include the following working groups. Additional working groups will be created and announced in the coming months, along with sub-groups under each working group as appropriate. Secretary Clinton will travel to Moscow in the fall for the first meeting of the Commission coordinators.
Commission Co-Chairs: President Dmitry A. Medvedev, President Barack Obama
Commission Coordinators: Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Working Groups:
- Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Security: Sergei V. Kiriyenko, Head of Rosatom, and Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy
- Arms Control and International Security: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
- Foreign Policy and Fighting Terrorism: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- Drug Trafficking: Viktor P. Ivanov, Director, Federal Drug Enforcement Service, and R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Business Development and Economic Relations: Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development, Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
- Energy and Environment: Sergei I. Shmatko, Minister of Energy, and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
- Agriculture: Yelena B. Skrynnik, Minister of Agriculture, and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
- Science and Technologies: Andrei A. Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science, and John Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Space Cooperation: Anatoly N. Perminov, Head of Roskosmos, and Administrator, NASA
- Health: Tatyana A. Golikova, Minister of Health, and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Cooperation in Prevention and Handling of Emergency Situations: Sergey K. Shoygu, Head of Emergency Situations Ministry, and Craig Fugate, Administrator, FEMA
- Civil Society: Vladislav Surkov, First Deputy Chief of Staff, Presidential Administration, and Michael McFaul, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia , National Security Council
- Educational and Cultural Exchanges: Mikhail E. Shvydkoy, Special Presidential Representative for International Culture Cooperation, and Judith McHale, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
On July 6, Presidents Medvedev and Obama signed a Joint Understanding to guide the remainder of the negotiations. The Joint Understanding commits the United States and Russia to reduce their strategic warheads to a range of 1500-1675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1100. Under the expiring START and the Moscow treaties the maximum allowable levels of warheads is 2200 and the maximum allowable level of launch vehicles is 1600.
These numbers reflect a new level of reductions of strategic offensive arms and delivery vehicles that will be lower than those in any existing arms control agreements. The new treaty will include effective verification measures drawn from the experience of the Parties in implementing START. The new agreement will enhance the security of both the U.S. and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces. A follow-on agreement to START directly supports the goals outlined by the President during his speech in Prague and will demonstrate Russian and American leadership in strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The U.S. and Russian negotiating teams met in April, May, June, and July, and will continue their work toward finalizing an agreement for signature and ratification at the earliest possible date.
The two Presidents agreed to create a Bilateral Presidential Commission, which they will chair and Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov will coordinate. The Commission will include the following working groups. Additional working groups will be created and announced in the coming months, along with sub-groups under each working group as appropriate. Secretary Clinton will travel to Moscow in the fall for the first meeting of the Commission coordinators.
Commission Co-Chairs: President Dmitry A. Medvedev, President Barack Obama
Commission Coordinators: Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Working Groups:
- Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Security: Sergei V. Kiriyenko, Head of Rosatom, and Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy
- Arms Control and International Security: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
- Foreign Policy and Fighting Terrorism: Sergei A. Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- Drug Trafficking: Viktor P. Ivanov, Director, Federal Drug Enforcement Service, and R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Business Development and Economic Relations: Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development, Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
- Energy and Environment: Sergei I. Shmatko, Minister of Energy, and Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
- Agriculture: Yelena B. Skrynnik, Minister of Agriculture, and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
- Science and Technologies: Andrei A. Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science, and John Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Space Cooperation: Anatoly N. Perminov, Head of Roskosmos, and Administrator, NASA
- Health: Tatyana A. Golikova, Minister of Health, and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Cooperation in Prevention and Handling of Emergency Situations: Sergey K. Shoygu, Head of Emergency Situations Ministry, and Craig Fugate, Administrator, FEMA
- Civil Society: Vladislav Surkov, First Deputy Chief of Staff, Presidential Administration, and Michael McFaul, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia , National Security Council
- Educational and Cultural Exchanges: Mikhail E. Shvydkoy, Special Presidential Representative for International Culture Cooperation, and Judith McHale, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
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