START I

December 5, 1997

START TREATY: ACHIEVEMENT OF PHASE I REDUCTIONS

Today, December 5, 1997, marks the third anniversary of the entry into force of the START Treaty. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was signed in Moscow on July 31, 1991, by President George Bush, for the United States, and President Mikhail Gorbachev, for the Soviet Union. Culminating several years of sustained effort by the Clinton Administration, involving adapting the Treaty's implementation regime to a new multilateral context, Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin exchanged instruments of ratification of the START Treaty in Budapest, Hungary in December 1994, along with the Heads of State of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Today also marks the successful completion of the first phase of reductions in strategic offensive arms required by the Treaty. The Parties to the START Treaty have reduced their respective forces below these first phase reduction levels. This accomplishment, as well as other aspects of the Treaty's first three years of implementation, is a major arms control success, a success shared by all Parties to the Treaty.

During this period, the five Parties to the START Treaty, the United States and the successors to the former Soviet Union as agreed in the 1992 Lisbon Protocol, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine, have worked seriously to meet their obligations under the Treaty. All nuclear warheads have been removed from Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Belarus and Kazakhstan also have eliminated all their strategic offensive arms, while Ukraine is continuing to eliminate its accountable strategic offensive arms. The United States and Russia have not only reduced their strategic offensive forces well below the levels required for the first phase reduction deadline, but have also met or are approaching levels that are not required until the second phase of reductions in December 1999. (See table below.) The Parties meet regularly within the framework of the Treaty's implementing body, the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission, to ensure smooth implementation of the Treaty and to seek resolution of implementation issues.

These significant accomplishments over the course of the Treaty's first three years have contributed immeasurably to international security and strategic stability.

October 1, 1997

START I AGGREGATE NUMBERS OF STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS^1,2
(As of July 1, 1997 as compiled from individual data submissions of the Parties)

Category of Data	Russia	Ukraine	Total, Former USSR Parties	USA	Phase I Reduction Limits (by 12/05/97)	Phase II Reduction Limits (by 12/05/99)	Final Limits (by 12/05/01)
A. Deployed ICBMs and Their Associated Launchers, Deployed SLBMs and Their Associated Launchers, and Deployed Heavy Bombers	1490	154	1644	1505	2100	1900	1600
B. Warheads Attributed to Deployed ICBMs, Deployed SLBMs, and Deployed Heavy Bombers	6750	1196	7946	7957	9150	7950	6000
C. Warheads Attributed to Deployed ICBMs and Deployed SLBMs	6180	844	7024	6176	8050	6750	4900
D. Throw-weight of Deployed ICBMs and Deployed SLBMs (MT)	4107.00	464.70	4571.70	1972.75	*	*	3600

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¹This data comes from the most recent aggregate MOU data exchanged by the Parties to the START Treaty. Only the more significant aggregate data is listed here. The data under the "Total, Former USSR Parties" heading was compiled by the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from the individual totals submitted by these Parties, and is provided for ease of comparison.

²1991 MOU data for the Soviet Union for the above categories is as follows: A. 2500; B. 10271; C. 9416; D. 6626.3. For the United States, the 1991 MOU data for the above-mentioned categories is as follows: A. 2246; B. 10563; C. 8210; D. 2361.3.

^*Throw-weight may not exceed 3600 metric tons seven years after Treaty entry into force.

Note that all data reflects specific START counting rules. The complete unclassified MOU data of the Parties is available upon request from the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.