Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I) - Message to the Senate Transmitting a Protocol to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[June 19, 1992]
[Pages 986-987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Senate Transmitting a Protocol to the Strategic Arms 
Reduction Treaty

June 19, 1992
To the Senate of the United States:
    I am transmitting herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate 
to ratification, the Protocol to the Treaty Between the United States of 
America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and 
Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the Protocol) signed at Lisbon, 
Portugal, on May 23, 1992. The Protocol is an integral part of the 
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet 
Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic 
Offensive Arms (the START Treaty), which I transmitted for the advice 
and consent of the Senate to ratification on November 25, 1991. The 
Protocol is designed to enable implementation of the START Treaty in the 
new international situation following the dissolution of the Soviet 
Union. The Protocol constitutes an amendment to the START Treaty, and I 
therefore request that it be considered along with the START Treaty for 
advice and consent to ratification.
    I also transmit for the information of the Senate documents that are 
associated with, but not integral parts of, the Protocol or the START 
Treaty. These documents are letters containing legally binding 
commitments from the heads of state of the Republic of Byelarus, the 
Republic of Kazakhstan, and Ukraine concerning the removal of nuclear 
weapons and strategic offensive arms from their territories. Although 
not submitted for the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, 
these documents are relevant to the consideration of the START Treaty by 
the Senate. No new U.S. security assurance or guarantees--beyond the 
assurances previously extended to all nonnuclear-weapon States Parties 
to the Non-Proliferation Treaty--are associated with any of these 
letters.
    The START Treaty represents a nearly decade-long effort by the 
United States and the former Soviet Union to address the nature and 
magnitude of the threat that strategic nuclear weapons pose to both 
countries and to the world in general. As I indicated in transmitting 
that Treaty to the Senate, the United States had several objectives in 
the START negotiations. First, we consistently held the view that the 
START Treaty must enhance stability in times of

[[Page 987]]

crisis. Second, we sought an agreement that did not simply limit 
strategic arms, but that reduced them significantly below current 
levels. Third, we sought a treaty that would allow equality of U.S. 
strategic forces relative to those of the former Soviet Union. Fourth, 
we sought an agreement that would be effectively verifiable. And, 
finally, the United States placed great emphasis during the negotiations 
in seeking an agreement that would be supported by the American and 
allied publics.
    I was fully convinced in 1991 and I remain fully convinced that the 
START Treaty achieves these objectives. In addition, the Protocol 
transmitted herewith has allowed us to achieve another important 
objective: ensuring that only one state emerging from the former Soviet 
Union will have nuclear weapons. To gain the benefits of START in the 
new international situation following the demise of the Soviet Union, it 
is necessary that Byelarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine--the four 
former Soviet republics within whose territory all strategic offensive 
arms are based and all declared START-related facilities are located--be 
legally bound by the START Treaty. The Protocol accomplishes this, while 
recognizing the sovereign and independent status of each of these four 
states.
    Of equal importance, the Protocol obligates Byelarus, Kazakhstan, 
and Ukraine to adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as 
nonnuclear-weapon States Parties in the shortest possible time. In 
addition, the letters transmitted with the Protocol legally obligate 
these three states to eliminate all nuclear weapons and all strategic 
offensive arms located on their territories within 7 years following the 
date of entry into force of the START Treaty. The Protocol and the 
associated letters thus further one of our most fundamental non-
proliferation objectives--that the number of nuclear-weapon states shall 
not be increased. Together with the START Treaty, the Protocol helps 
ensure that nuclear weapons will not be used in the future.
    The START Treaty serves the interest of the United States and 
represents an important step in the stabilization of the strategic 
nuclear balance. With the addition of the Protocol, the START Treaty can 
be implemented in a manner consistent with the changed political 
circumstances following the demise of the Soviet Union and in a manner 
that achieves important non-proliferation goals. I therefore urge the 
Senate to give prompt and favorable consideration to the START Treaty, 
including its Annexes, Protocols, Memorandum of Understanding, and this 
new Protocol, and to give advice and consent to its ratification.

                                                             George Bush

The White House
June 19, 1992.