Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

START ( English St rategic A rms R eduction T reaty , German  Treaty for the Reduction of Strategic Weapons ) is a disarmament agreement negotiated between the United States and the Soviet Union or Russia for the joint gradual reduction of strategic delivery systems for nuclear weapons .

The talks on this treaty on the reduction of strategic arms were referred to as Strategic Arms Reduction Talks and also abbreviated to START .

START I.

George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev at the signing of START I in Moscow (1991)

START I was originally initiated by US President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and signed by his successor George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev on July 31, 1991, five months before the collapse of the Soviet Union .

The agreement envisaged a reduction to 1,600 carrier systems with a maximum of 6,000 eligible nuclear warheads , as well as halving the heavy Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) SS-18 Satan and an upper limit of 4,900 nuclear warheads on ICBM and SLBM for both sides. Further agreements related to verification measures e.g. B. On-site inspections and a ban on encrypting the telemetry data transmitted during missile test flights .

After the end of the Soviet Union, START I came into force on December 5, 1994 and the regulations of the treaty apply to the USA, Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan and Ukraine through an additional protocol . The latter three states have since completely disarmed their nuclear weapons.

After another agreement, START II, ​​emerged at the beginning of the 1990s, START was renamed START I. The START I contract expired at the end of December 2009.

START II

George Bush and Boris Yeltsin signing the START II treaty in Moscow (1993)

START II was signed on January 3, 1993 by George Bush for the USA and Boris Yeltsin for the Russian Federation. The successor to START I required the deactivation of all land-based ICBMs with multiple warheads MIRV . This meant that all Russian SS-18 Satan and American Peacekeeper missiles had to be destroyed. In addition, it was agreed that the strategic nuclear warheads would be reduced to a maximum of 3,000 to 3,500 per side by 2003. START II did not, however, provide for any actual destruction of the warheads removed from the carrier systems, nor did it limit the warheads' warehousing.

This historic contract began on June 17, 1992 with the signing of the so-called Joint Understanding . The agreement was officially signed by the Presidents on January 3, 1993. The ratification by the US Senate took place on January 26, 1996 with a majority of 87 to 4 votes. The Russian Duma, however, delayed implementation for several years due to US military operations in Iraq and Kosovo and NATO's eastward expansion . In addition, the treaty would have meant higher armament expenditures for Russia in order to outsource or upgrade the previous ICBMs with steerable warheads (MIRV) to sea-based SLBMs and simple ICBMs with only one warhead.

In 1997, both sides tried again to prevent START II from failing by means of agreements. The fulfillment of the treaty and the disarmament measures contained therein were extended by five years from 2002 to the end of 2007. In addition, after START II came into force, talks to conclude START III should begin in order to reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 2,000 to 2,500. The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) was later signed instead .

However, both parties subsequently lost their interest in the contract. The most important point for the US was the modification of the ABM Treaty , which should allow it to build a defense system against ballistic missiles - an action that Russia is clearly opposed to. On April 14, 2000, START II was finally ratified by the Duma, but on condition that the USA remain in the ABM Treaty. However, the USA terminated the ABM contract a little later, so that START II did not come into force.

The SORT agreement was agreed by George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin at their summit in November 2001 and signed at the Moscow summit on May 24, 2002. Both sides agreed to unilaterally reduce the warheads instead of concluding START II. Unlike START II, ​​however, SORT does not refer to carrier systems, but only to warheads that are ready for use. Warheads that are stored or that are being serviced do not have to be recorded and therefore not dismantled. In addition, SORT does not contain a verification mechanism or a detailed schedule.

New START

Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev at the New START signing ceremony in Prague (2010)

In his speech in Prague on April 5, 2009, US President Barack Obama announced that he would continue the disarmament talks with Russia that had begun at the London G20 summit and that a new treaty to reduce strategic nuclear weapons would be negotiated in 2009. This promise was taken up with the declaration of non-proliferation by the G8 at the summit in L'Aquila , where President Obama also announced a summit on global nuclear safety for March 2010.

On March 26, 2010, Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that the number of nuclear weapons should be further limited. On April 8, 2010, in Prague , both presidents signed the New START treaty, which is valid until 2020, on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive weapons. This provides for a reduction in the number of warheads from 2200 to 1550 each and the number of delivery systems from 1600 to 800 for the next seven years from the ratification of the treaty. The stationing of 14 ground-based interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska and four more at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are not subject to the restrictions of the contract.

The United States Senate ratified the START agreement on December 22, 2010. US President Obama was dependent on the support of the Republican Party , as a two-thirds majority was necessary for ratification. The Russian Duma , which had already announced its approval before the decision of the US Senate, ratified the agreement on January 25, 2011. With the approval of the Russian Federation Council , the ratification process was completed on January 26, 2011. With the exchange of the ratification documents by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at the Munich Security Conference , the treaty came into force on February 5, 2011. On February 11, 2013, US President Obama announced that he would renegotiate the START agreement. During the October 2017 contract monitoring commission it was reported that the reduction should be completed in February 2018.

This article or section needs revision: Negotiations during the Trump presidency faz.net missing.
Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

At the end of January 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement negotiated with the United States to extend New START, the last major nuclear disarmament treaty between the two states, for another five years. US President Joe Biden also signed in early February 2021 .

Tabular overviews

Nuclear weapons arsenals Russia and USA

Memorandum of Understanding , dates for the expired START-I contract, July 1, 2009
Existing ICBMs with launch platforms, existing SLBMs with launch platforms, and existing bombs Warheads to existing ICBMs, SLBMs and bombs Warheads to existing ICBMs and SLBMs Explosive power of the existing ICBMs and SLBMs (in MT )
Russia 809 3,897 3,289 2,297
USA 1,188 5,916 4,864 1,857.3
Russia
date Ready-to-use ICBMs, SLBMs and their delivery systems and strategic bombers Warheads on ICBMs, SLBMs and strategic bombers Warheads on ICBMs and SLBMs Explosive power of ready-to-use ICBMs and SLBMs (in MT)
July 1, 2009 809 3,897 3,289 2,297.0
January 1, 2009 814 3,909 3,239 2,301.8
January 1, 2008 952 4.147 3,515 2,373.5
September 1, 1990 (USSR) 2,500 10,271 9.416 6,626.3
United States of America
date Ready-to-use ICBMs, SLBMs and their delivery systems and strategic bombers Warheads on ICBMs, SLBMs and strategic bombers Warheads on ICBMs and SLBMs Explosive power of ready-to-use ICBMs and SLBMs (in MT)
July 1, 2009 1,188 5,916 4,864 1,857.3
January 1, 2009 1,198 5,576 4,514 1,717.3
January 1, 2008 1,225 5,914 4,816 1,826.1
September 1, 1990 2,246 10,563 8,210 2,361.3

Operational nuclear forces

Launch of a Dnepr rocket, a demilitarized R-36M UTTCh (SS-18 mod 4)
Russian Operational Nuclear Forces, status 2009
Launch platforms Warheads
R-36 M UTTCh / M2 (SS-18 M4 / M5) 68 680
UR-100 N UTTCh (SS-19) 72 432
RT-2PM Topol mobile (SS-25) 180 180
RT-2PM2 Topol M silo (SS-27) 50 50
RT-2PM2 Topol M mobile (SS-27 M1) 15th 15th
RS-24 Yars mobile (SS-27 Mod-X-2) 0 0
ICBM (total) 383 1,355
R-29 RL (SS-N-18) 4/64 192
R-29 RM (SS-N-23) 3/48 192
R-29 RMU Sinewa (SS-N-23) 3/48 192
RSM-56 Bulava (SS-NX-30) (2/0) 0
SLBM (total) 10/160 576
Tupolev Tu-95 MS6 (Bear H6) 32 192
Tupolev Tu-95 MS16 (Bear H16) 31 496
Tupolev Tu-160 (Blackjack) 14th 168
Bomber (total) 77 856
Nuclear forces (total) 620 2,787


Launch of an LGM-118A Peacekeeper missile
US Operational Nuclear Forces, status 2009
Launch platforms Warheads
Minuteman III W78 / Mk12A 250 350
Minuteman III W87 / Mk21 200 200
ICBM (total) 450 550
UGM-133A Trident II D-5 W76-0 / Mk4 288 718
UGM-133A Trident II D-5 W76-1 / Mk4A 50
UGM-133A Trident II D-5 W88 / Mk5 384
SLBM (total) 288 1.152
B-2 20th n / A
B-52H 93 n / A
B61-7 n / A 150
B61-11 n / A
B-83 n / A
ALCM / W80 -1 n / A 350
Bomber (total) 113 500
Nuclear forces (total) 851 2,202

See also

Web links

 Wikinews: United States and Russia sign successor agreement to START  - News

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ To reduce our warheads and stockpiles, we will negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia this year. Transcript of the Prague speech on April 5, 2009
  2. ↑ whitehouse.gov
  3. ^ The New START Treaty and Protocol. (PDF; 476 kB) In: White House Blog. United States Department of State , April 8, 2010, p. 17 , accessed April 9, 2010 .
  4. ^ Obama and Medvedev are disarming. Zeit Online , March 26, 2010, accessed March 26, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Obama and Medvedev sign new START treaty. Zeit Online , April 8, 2010, accessed April 8, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Obama receives an important Christmas present . NZZ , December 22, 2010.
  7. ↑ Duma approves start-up contract with USA . Spiegel Online , January 25, 2011.
  8. ↑ Russian House of Lords accepts nuclear disarmament treaty with USA . Stern , January 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Security Policy - USA and Russia talk about missile defense . ( Memento from February 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Tagesschau (ARD) ; Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  10. ↑ Obama offers disarmament . n-tv; Retrieved February 11, 2013
  11. ↑ NZZ , October 23, 2017, p. 2 - Conference until October 24 according to Michail Uljanow
  12. ↑ Nuclear Weapons Agreement with Russia: The USA also extend the New Start Agreement n-tv.de, February 3, 2021, accessed February 4, 2021.
  13. ↑ a b c d START data for 1st July 2009. ( Memento from November 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) state.gov
  14. ↑ a b START data for 1st January 2009. ( Memento from July 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) state.gov
  15. ↑ a b START data for 1st January 2008. ( Memento from May 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) cdi.org
  16. ↑ a b START data for 1st September 1990. fas.org
  17. ↑ Russian nuclear forces, 2009 (PDF)
  18. ↑ US Nuclear Forces 2009 (PDF)