Russia, US forge new N-arms treaty

Russia and the United States today signed a new pact on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons, putting new energy into Moscow-Washington cooperation in the areas of nuclear disarmament and arms control.

Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama signed a new document that replaces the START 1 treaty that expired in December, RIA Novosti reported.

Under the new strategic arms pact, the two will reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 1,550 on either side over seven years and limit the number of delivery vehicles in operation and in reserve to a maximum 800.

"Warheads on deployed ICBMs and deployed SLBMs count toward this limit and each deployed heavy bomber equipped for nuclear armaments counts as one warhead toward this limit," a White House press release said.

The treaty will be valid for 10 years unless superseded by another agreement. However, each country has the right to unilaterally withdraw from the treaty if any of the provisions of the treaty is found to be a threat to its national security.

The document also clearly demarcates offensive and defensive weapons and their deployment. This seems to be intended to sooth Moscow's concerns about the NATO plans to deploy a missile-defence system in Eastern Europe.