§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what steps he is taking to assist in the implementation of the START 2 Nuclear Missile Reduction Treaty; [77975]
(2) what assessment he has made of the number of Russian long-range nuclear warheads; and what steps he has recently taken to encourage a reduction in that number.[77974]
§ Mr. Tony LloydUnder the START I treaty, Russia and the United States are limited to 6,000 accountable strategic warheads each. Under START II, which has not yet been approved by the Russian Duman, each side would be limited to between 3,000 and 3,500 deployed strategic warheads. Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton agreed in Helsinki in March 1997 that a START III treaty would further reduce these levels to between 2,000–2,500 per side.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has repeatedly urged the Russian to ratify START II, and to proceed promptly to negotiate with the United States a START III treaty, most recently during his visit to Russia from 2–5 March.