[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.

    
    
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