United States-Russia mutual detargeting

United States-Russia mutual detargeting

Between 12 and 15 January 1994, President Bill Clinton of the United States and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation announced an agreement between their respective countries not to target strategic nuclear missiles at each other.

The text of the agreementCite web|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/detarget/docs/940114-321186.htm|title=Text of Moscow Declaration by President Clinton and Russian President Yeltsin, Moscow, Russia, January 14, 1994|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=September 21|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|year=1998|language=English] , which is thirteen paragraphs long, includes only a single paragraph on the subject of detargeting. It specifies 30 May 1994 as the deadline for detargeting, and states that "for the first time in nearly half a century -- virtually since the dawn of the nuclear age -- Russia and United States will not operate nuclear forces, day-to-day, in a manner that presumes they are adversaries."

Detargeted missiles are reprogrammed to either have no target or, in the case of missiles that require a constant target (such as the Minuteman III), are set to open-ocean targets Cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/detarget/news/940531-346693.htm|title=DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, TUESDAY, MAY 31|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=September 21|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|year=1998|language=English] .

In 1997, during a debate over an amendment that would require the president to certify that Russia had detargeted its missiles, Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA) introduced into the Congressional Record a transcript of a 60 Minutes interview with Russian generals which stated that Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles could be retargeted to point to US targets within a matter of minutes. Weldon also pointed out that there is no way to verify that Russia has detargeted its missilesCite web|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/detarget/docs/970620-cr.htm|title=DETARGETING OF RUSSIAN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=September 21|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|year=1998|language=English] .

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nuclear disarmament — United States and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945 2006. These numbers include warheads not actively deployed, including those on reserve status or scheduled for dismantlement. Stockpile totals do not necessarily reflect nuclear… …   Wikipedia

  • Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty — Not to be confused with Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or Strategic Arms Limitation Talks SORT / Treaty of Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush sign SORT on 24 May 2002 in Moscow Type …   Wikipedia

  • List of politics topics — NOTOC TopicTOC Politics This is a list of political topics, including political science terms, political philosophies, political issues, etc. Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied …   Wikipedia

  • New START — / СНВ III Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms Договор между Российской Федерацией и Соединёнными Штатами Америки о мерах по… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Participation in the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty …   Wikipedia

  • Strategic Arms Limitation Talks — SALT redirects here. For other uses, see SALT (disambiguation). Gerald Ford and Leonid Brezhnev signing a joint communiqué on the SALT treaty in Vladivostok, November 23, 1974 The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty refers to two rounds of …   Wikipedia

  • Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty — (CTBT) Signed 10 September 1996 Location New York City Effective Not in force Condition 180 days after it is ratified by all 44 Annex 2 countries: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, B …   Wikipedia

  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty — 7 October 1963 President Kennedy signs the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the Treaty Room at the White House. L R: William Hopkins, Sen. Mike Mansfield, John J. McCloy, Adrian S. Fisher, Sen. John Pastore, W. Averell Harriman, Sen. George… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”