[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.