US-Russia START 2 Treaty Enters into Force

Hillary Clinton (seated R) and Sergey Lavrov (seated L) exchange documents of the START treaty in Munich, Germany, on 05 February 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 2) for mutual disarmament between the United States and Russia has come into effect.

As a conference in Munich on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton exchanged ratification documents, the BBC reported.

The new treaty replaces the 1991 START treaty, which expired in December 2009. It was initially agreed to and signed on April 08, 2010 by US and Russian Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in Prague.

Before the ceremony at the Munich Conference on Security Policy, Clinton said the treaty was "another example of the kind of clear-eyed co-operation that is in everyone's interests".

She added that Washington was negotiating with Russia about how the two countries can work together on other issues concerning their common security.

According to Lavrov, START 2 was "a product of the understanding that unilateral approaches to security are counterproductive".

"The treaty that enters into force today will enhance international stability," he said.

The new pact obligates both nations to cap their fielded strategic nuclear weapons to 1 550 warheads, while the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on either side.

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