The United States and Russia have finalized the most comprehensive nuclear arms reduction treaty in nearly two decades after more than a year of intense negotiations, US President Barack Obama announced Friday, dpa reported.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on the final details of what has been dubbed the "New START Treaty" in a telephone call Friday and will meet in Prague on April 8 to sign the deal. The treaty will then have to be ratified by both countries' legislatures.
The START deal sent "a clear signal that we intend to lead" on reducing the prevalence of nuclear weapons around the world, said Obama, who last year in Prague laid out a long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
"In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time," Obama said in a speech at the White House. "Today, we have taken another step forward in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children."
The agreement and April 8 signing ceremony was confirmed in Moscow. The Russian government sees the agreement as reflecting the balance of interests of both countries, said Natalia Timakova, the spokeswoman for Medvedev.
Both sides will be required within seven years to reduce their arsenals of long-range nuclear warheads to 1,550, about one-third below current levels and nearly three quarters below the level agreed in the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that was signed in 1991.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the deal did not place any restrictions on US plans to deploy a missile defence system in Europe, which had been a key sticking point between the two powers. But the defence shield is referenced in the treaty, the Kremlin said.
Russia has been solidly opposed to the missile defence system, viewing it as a threat to their own nuclear capability. The US has insisted it is directed toward a potential missile threat from Iran. Gates said he was hopeful that Russia could still be convinced to participate in the efforts to construct a European defence shield.
Obama said the START deal was part of a his administration's commitment to "reset" relations with Russia, which had fallen to their lowest point since the Cold War. Obama and Medvedev have met or telephoned 14 times in the past year in an effort to iron out the details of the treaty.
The signing ceremony in Prague will come just days before Obama hosts dozens of world leaders in Washington for a summit on nuclear security. The United Nations will hold a broader meeting in May of members of the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty for a regular five-year review of that treaty..
The United States and Russia own about 90 per cent of the world's nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said of the upcoming summits: "We come with more credibility, Russia comes with more credibility having negotiated this treaty."