[Senate Treaty Document 111-5]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress
2d Session SENATE Treaty Doc.
111-5
_______________________________________________________________________
TREATY WITH RUSSIA ON MEASURES FOR FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF
STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS
----------
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ON MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC
OFFENSIVE ARMS, SIGNED IN PRAGUE ON APRIL 8, 2010, WITH PROTOCOL
May 13, 2010.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with the
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate
TREATY WITH RUSSIA ON MEASURES FOR FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF
STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS
111th Congress
2d Session SENATE Treaty Doc.
111-5
_______________________________________________________________________
TREATY WITH RUSSIA ON MEASURES FOR FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF
STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ON MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC
OFFENSIVE ARMS, SIGNED IN PRAGUE ON APRIL 8, 2010, WITH PROTOCOL
May 13, 2010.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with the
accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
The White House, May 13, 2010.
To the Senate of the United States:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty between
the United States of America and the Russian Federation on
Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic
Offensive Arms, signed in Prague on April 8, 2010, with
Protocol. The Protocol is an integral part of the Treaty and
contains three Annexes. I also transmit, for the information of
the Senate, the report of the Department of State and three
unilateral statements associated with the Treaty. These
unilateral statements are not legally binding and are not
integral parts of the Treaty. The Department of State report
includes a detailed article-by-article analysis of the Treaty,
as well as an analysis of the unilateral statements.
The Treaty will enhance the national security of the United
States. It mandates mutual reductions and limitations on the
world's two largest nuclear arsenals. The Treaty will promote
transparency and predictability in the strategic relationship
between the United States and the Russian Federation and will
enable each Party to verify that the other Party is complying
with its obligations through a regime that includes on-site
inspections, notifications, a comprehensive and continuing
exchange of data regarding strategic offensive arms, and
provisions for the use of national technical means of
verification. The Treaty further includes detailed procedures
for the conversion or elimination of Treaty-accountable items,
and provides for the exchange of certain telemetric information
on selected ballistic missile launches for increased
transparency.
Additionally, the Treaty creates a Bilateral Consultative
Commission that will meet regularly to promote effective
implementation of the Treaty regime. This Commission will
provide an important channel for communication between the
United States and the Russian Federation regarding the Treaty's
implementation.
The United States will continue to maintain a strong
nuclear deterrent under this Treaty, as validated by the
Department of Defense through rigorous analysis in the Nuclear
Posture Review. The Treaty preserves our ability to determine
for ourselves the composition and structure of our strategic
forces within the Treaty's overall limits, and to modernize
those forces. The Treaty does not contain any constraints on
testing, development, or deployment of current or planned U.S.
missile defense programs or current or planned U.S. long-range
conventional strike capabilities.
The Treaty, upon its entry into force, will supersede the
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian
Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions, signed in Moscow
on May 24, 2002.
I urge the Senate to give early and favorable consideration
to the Treaty, including its Protocol, and to give its advice
and consent to ratification.
Barack Obama.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, May 6, 2010.
The President,
The White House.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty
between the United States of America and the Russian Federation
on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms, signed at Prague on April 8, 2010,
with Protocol. The Protocol is an integral part of the Treaty
and contains three Annexes. Also enclosed, for the information
of the Senate, are unilateral statements associated with the
Treaty. These unilateral statements are not legally binding and
are not integral parts of the Treaty.
The purpose of this Treaty is to require mutual reductions
and limitations on U.S. and Russian strategic offensive arms.
If ratified and implemented by the United States and the
Russian Federation, it will promote transparency and
predictability in the strategic relationship between the United
States and Russia and will result in significantly lower limits
on the two countries' deployed strategic delivery vehicles and
their associated warheads, while preserving our ability to
maintain the strong nuclear deterrent that remains an essential
element of U.S. national security.
There are several elements of the Treaty to which I would
draw your attention. The Treaty includes extensive provisions
to verify that the Parties are complying with their
obligations, including on-site inspections, notifications, a
comprehensive and continuing exchange of data, and provisions
for the use of national technical means. It also includes
detailed procedures for conversion or elimination of Treaty-
accountable items, and provides for the exchange of certain
telemetric information for increased transparency. Finally, the
Treaty establishes a Bilateral Consultative Commission to
promote effective implementation of the Treaty regime.
I also note that the Treaty permits the United States the
freedom to determine the structure and composition of its
strategic forces within the Treaty's limits. The Treaty does
not contain any constraints on testing, development or
deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs
or current or planned U.S. long-range conventional strike
capabilities, nor does it prevent modernization of U.S.
strategic forces.
The Treaty, upon its entry into force, will supersede the
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian
Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions, signed at Moscow
on May 24, 2002, and will not require implementing legislation
in the United States.
Accompanying this report is a detailed article-by-article
analysis of the Treaty, including its Protocol and Annexes
thereto, as well as an analysis of the unilateral statements
referenced above.
This Treaty will enhance the national security of the
United States. I therefore recommend that the Treaty, including
its Protocol, be submitted to the Senate for its advice and
consent to ratification at the earliest possible date.
Respectfully submitted.
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Enclosures: As stated.