Russian lawmakers ratify START II arms reduction treaty

April 14, 2000
Web posted at: 11:03 a.m. EDT (1503 GMT)

In this story: Victory for Putin Working on START III Communists oppose missile reduction RELATED STORIES, SITES

MOSCOW -- Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday approved the START II arms limitation agreement, which would cut in half the current number of nuclear warheads in Russia and the United States.

The vote in the State Duma was 288 to 131 in favor of the treaty, which was struck in 1993. START II was passed by the U.S. Senate in 1996.

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Ratification is seen as a victory for Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin, whose party joined with more moderate forces against communists opposed to the treaty.

Victory for Putin

Putin unexpectedly showed up in the Duma to attend the debate over START II. He said in a speech that even with approval of the treaty, Russia still would have enough weapons to destroy any enemy "several times over."

"We don't need an arms race," he said.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, Putin said the decision would allow Russia to retain its nuclear shield while diverting scarce funds to conventional forces.

"It preserves a powerful nuclear shield but also allows us to channel funds to the support of the conventional forces and allows us to make our army more combat ready," he said

The measure now goes to Russia's Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, where swift approval is expected.

The victory for Putin comes on the eve of his first trip to the West since being elected in March. The president-elect travels to London on Sunday.

Putin's predecessor, President Boris Yeltsin, tried and failed for six years to push the treaty through the old Communist-led Duma.

Working on START III

START II would reduce the number of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads to about 3,000-3,500 each by the end of 2007. It also would allow both nations to step up efforts on START III, which includes even more cuts.

Top U.S. arms negotiators said Friday they are ready to kick off a new round of talks for strategic arms cuts when they meet their Russian counterparts in Geneva next week.

Teams from both countries have already met at least five times since last summer to lay the groundwork for START III, but Moscow's long-delayed ratification of START II on Friday clears the way for a new beginning, said U.S. officials.

Still, the negotiations likely will be overshadowed by U.S. demands to revise yet another pact -- the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which bans the construction of national missile shields by either side.

Putin warned Friday that Russia would pull out of all nuclear and conventional arms control agreements if the United States does not adhere to the ABM treaty.

Washington wants to amend the treaty so it can build a limited missile defense system to protect against possible missile attacks from what it calls "rogue nations" such as North Korea.

The United States insists its proposed system would not pose a threat to Russia. But Russia says the move could trigger a new arms race.

Communists oppose missile reduction

The Communists said ratification of SALT II is a threat to Russia's security. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said the approval "destroys those missiles that could have shielded our country for another 15 years."

About 150 mostly elderly Communists demonstrated outside the Duma before the vote. They carried placards denouncing Putin and the United States.

Russian supporters of START II said many Russian strategic missiles are old and will have to be scrapped soon anyway.

Correspondent Steve Harrigan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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