    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 15 (Monday, April 17, 2000)]
    [Pages 833-834]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on Russian State Duma Action on the START II Treaty

    April 14, 2000

        I am very pleased that the Russian State Duma today approved the
    START II Treaty--a critical step toward the treaty's entering into
    force. This action builds on decades of cooperation between the United
    States and Russia to reduce nuclear arms and clearly advances the
    interests of both countries. Together with the START I Treaty, it will
    result in a two-thirds reduction in the strategic nuclear weapons that
    the Soviet Union and the United States maintained at the height of the
    cold war. START II will make our people safer and our partnership with a
    democratic Russia stronger. It will open the

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    door to further significant steps to reduce nuclear arms and the nuclear
    danger, a course that is strongly supported by the international
    community and has strong bipartisan support in the United States.
        I congratulate President-elect Putin and his government, members of
    the State Duma, and Russian citizens who supported this giant step
    toward a safer future. I look forward to prompt action on the treaty by
    the Federation Council. Now, we and Russia can and must seize this
    opportunity to intensify our discussions on both START III and the ABM
    Treaty, so we can take further concrete steps this year to strengthen
    the security of the United States, Russia, and indeed the whole world.