Russia ratifies Start II

Moscow wants to avoid a costly arms race

The Russian parliament has ratified the long-delayed Start II treaty, slashing nuclear arsenals.

President-elect Vladimir Putin urged deputies to vote in favour, but he also warned that Russia would withdraw from the entire disarmament process if the United States abandoned the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty.

Washington wants to amend the treaty so it can build a limited missile defence system.

Putin: Warning to US

"If the United States abandons the 1972 agreement, we will have the right to pull out not only of Start II but also from the entire arms reductions and control system," he told the State Duma before deputies voted.

Mr Putin added that Russia could not afford a new nuclear arms race with the United States.

US-Russia arms accords

1972: ABM Treaty forbids deployment of missile defence system

1979: Salt II Treaty imposes for first time ceiling on strategic nuclear weapons

1987: Reagan and Gorbachev sign treaty eliminating medium-range missiles

1991: Start I slashes nuclear arsenals by one-third

1993: Yeltsin and Bush sign Start II Treaty

1999: US Senate blocks nuclear test ban treaty

"This (delay) can prompt a nuclear arms race which Russia can ill-afford and whose consequence would be even worse than the last time."

The vote was 288 in favour with 133 against and four abstentions.

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright welcomed the ratification, describing it as an historic step that would boost international security.

But the Communists and their allies had urged legislators not to approve the treaty, saying it would fatally weaken Russia and give the US a huge military advantage.

Officials had taken extraordinary steps to keep the session secret until Mr Putin's speech.

Doors were locked and radio music turned up outside the chamber to stop reporters hearing the proceedings.

Seven year delay

Under Start II, the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia would halve to no more than 3,500 warheads each by the end of 2007.

Ratification clears the way for possible progress on the next round of strategic arms talks between Moscow and Washington.

Russia still has about 6,000 warheads

Presidents George Bush and Boris Yeltsin signed the treaty in Moscow in 1993, and the US Senate ratified the agreement in 1996.

Ratification in Russia became possible after centrist parties gained a majority in the Duma in last December's elections, ending years of control by the Communists and their hard-line allies.

Correspondents say the vote enables Mr Putin to show that he has stamped his authority on the Duma, on the eve of his first trip to the West, starting in London on Sunday.

US State Department spokesman James Rubin earlier this week welcomed the Duma's decision to take a vote, saying that ratification would be "an historic day in the history of arms control".

Saving money

Both the US and Russia believe that their nuclear arsenals can be cut even further, and both could save money by taking unnecessary weapons out of service.

The Russian Government and centrist members of parliament want to shift the country's nuclear programme towards a smaller arsenal of modern weapons, such as Russia's new Topol-M missile.

Those who own a car know that the older the car gets, the more expensive its maintenance becomes

Centrist Duma member Andrei Kokoshin

"Those who own a car know that the older the car gets, the more expensive its maintenance becomes," said centrist deputy Andrei Kokoshin.

"A few modern missiles, capable of breaking through a missile-defence system in a retaliatory strike, would be a much more effective deterrent," he said.

But the BBC's defence correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, says the next steps in nuclear arms control could be hampered by Washington's proposals for limited defences against missile attack.

Washington wants to change the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so it can build a system to protect against possible attacks from "rogue nations" such as North Korea.