[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[September 6, 2000]
[Pages 1760-1762]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Joint Statement: Strategic Stability Cooperation Initiative Between the 
United States of America and Russian Federation
September 6, 2000

    President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America 
and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian 
Federation met today in New York and agreed on a Strategic Stability 
Cooperation Initiative as a constructive basis for strengthening trust 
between the two sides and for further development of agreed measures to 
enhance strategic stability and to counter the proliferation of weapons 
of mass destruction, missiles and missile technologies worldwide. In 
furtherance of this initiative, the two Presidents approved an 
implementation plan developed by their experts as a basis for continuing 
this work.
    The Strategic Stability Cooperation Initiative builds on the 
Presidents' agreement in their two previous meetings. The Joint 
Statement on Principles of Strategic Stability, adopted in Moscow on 
June 4, 2000, and the Joint Statement on Cooperation on Strategic 
Stability, adopted in

[[Page 1761]]

Okinawa on July 21, 2000, establish a constructive basis for progress in 
further reducing nuclear weapons arsenals, preserving and strengthening 
the ABM Treaty, and confronting new challenges to international 
security. The United States and Russia reaffirm their commitment to the 
ABM Treaty as a cornerstone of strategic stability. The United States 
and Russia intend to implement the provisions of the START I and INF 
Treaties, to seek early entry into force of the START II Treaty and its 
related Protocol, the 1997 New York agreements on ABM issues and the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and to work towards the early 
realization of the 1997 Helsinki Joint Statement on Parameters on Future 
Reductions in Nuclear Forces. The United States and Russia also intend 
to seek new forms of cooperation in the area of non-proliferation of 
missiles and missile technologies with a view to strengthening 
international security and maintaining strategic stability within the 
framework of the Strategic Stability Cooperation Initiative between our 
two countries.
    The Strategic Stability Cooperation Initiative could include, along 
with expansion of existing programs, new initiatives aimed at 
strengthening the security of our two countries and of the entire world 
community and without prejudice to the security of any state.
    START III Treaty and ABM Treaty. The United States and Russia have 
presented their approaches to the principal provisions of the START III 
Treaty and on ABM issues. The United States and Russia have held 
intensified discussions on further reductions in strategic offensive 
forces within the framework of a future START III Treaty and on ABM 
issues, with a view to initiating negotiations expeditiously, in 
accordance with the Moscow Joint Statement of September 2, 1998, the 
Cologne Joint Statement of June 20, 1999 and the Okinawa Joint Statement 
of July 21, 2000 by the two Presidents. They will seek to agree upon 
additional measures to strengthen strategic stability and confidence, 
and to ensure predictability in the military field.
    NPT, CTBT, FMCT, BWC and Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones. The United 
States and Russia reaffirm their commitment to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the foundation of the international 
nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regime.
    The United States and Russia will seek to ensure early entry into 
force and effective implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban 
Treaty. They will continue to work to begin negotiations to conclude a 
Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty and to strengthen the Biological Weapons 
Convention. They will continue to facilitate the establishment of 
nuclear weapon-free zones in the world, based on voluntary agreements 
among states in the relevant region, consistent with the relevant 1999 
Report of the United Nations Disarmament Commission, as an important 
avenue for efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation.
    Discussions of issues related to the threat of proliferation of 
missiles and missile technology. The United States and Russia are 
prepared to expand their discussions of issues related to the threat of 
proliferation of missiles and missile technologies. These discussions 
will include annual briefings based on assessments of factors and events 
related to ballistic and cruise missile proliferation. Annual 
assessments will address potential threats to international security. 
With a view to preventing the proliferation of missiles and weapons of 
mass destruction, political and diplomatic measures will be discussed 
and undertaken, using bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.
    Cooperation in the area of Theater Missile Defense. The United 
States and Russia are prepared to resume and then expand cooperation in 
the area of Theater Missile Defense (TMD), and also to consider the 
possibility of involving other states, with a view to strengthening 
global and regional stability.
    The sides will consider as specific areas of such cooperation:
     Expansion of the bilateral program of joint TMD command and 
            staff exercises.
     Possibility of involving other states in joint TMD command 
            and staff exercises.
     Possibility of development of methods for enhanced 
            interaction for joint use of TMD systems.
     Joint development of concepts for possible cooperation in 
            TMD systems.
     Possibility of reciprocal invitation of observers to actual 
            firings of TMD systems.
    Early warning information. The United States and Russia, in 
implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement between the United States 
of America and the Russian Federation

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on the Establishment of a Joint Center for the Exchange of Data from 
Early Warning Systems and Notification of Missile Launches signed in 
Moscow on June 4, 2000, intend to establish and put into operation in 
Moscow within a year the joint center for exchange of data to preclude 
the possibility of missile launches caused by a false missile attack 
warning. The Parties will also make efforts to come to an early 
agreement on a regime for exchanging notifications of missile launches, 
consistent with the statement of the Presidents at Okinawa on July 21, 
2000.
    Missile Non-Proliferation measures. The United States and Russia 
intend to strengthen the Missile Technology Control Regime. They declare 
their commitment to seek new avenues of cooperation with a view to 
limiting proliferation of missiles and missile technologies. Consistent 
with the July 21, 2000, Joint Statement of the Presidents at Okinawa, 
they will work together with other states on a new mechanism to 
integrate, inter alia, the Russian proposal for a Global Control System 
for Non-Proliferation of Missiles and Missile Technologies (GCS), the 
U.S. proposal for a missile code of conduct, as well as the MTCR.
    Confidence and transparency-building measures. Bearing in mind their 
obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
Weapons, the United States and Russia will seek to expand cooperation 
related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to promote a 
mutually beneficial technical exchange that will facilitate the 
implementation of the CTBT after its entry into force. The United States 
and Russia are prepared to discuss confidence and transparency-building 
measures as an element of facilitating compliance with, preserving and 
strengthening the ABM Treaty. These measures could include: data 
exchanges, pre-notifications of planned events, voluntary 
demonstrations, participation in observations, organization of 
exhibitions, and strengthening the ABM Treaty compliance verification 
process.
    The Presidents of the United States and Russia have agreed that 
officials from the relevant ministries and agencies will meet annually 
to coordinate their activities in this area, and look forward with 
interest to such a meeting in the near future.
    The United States and Russia call upon all nations of the world to 
unite their efforts to strengthen strategic stability.


The President of                        The President of
the United States of America            the Russian Federation
 

New York City

September 6, 2000

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement. The release issued by the Office of the Press 
Secretary also included the Strategic Stability Cooperation Initiative 
Implementation Plan.