July, 06 2009, 01:12pm EDT
Leading US Arms Control Group: Obama-Medvedev Made Progress, Still Long Way to Go
WASHINGTON
In response to today's announcement by Presidents Barack Obama and
Dmitry Medvedev concerning a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START), the Center for Arms Control and
Non-Proliferation commended the leaders' progress but warned that there
is still much to be done.
"Today's events represent progress, but there is still a long way to go," said John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. "It
took George W. Bush eight years to unravel U.S.-Russian relations, and
it will take Barack Obama more than eight months to stitch things back
together."
START expires on December 5, 2009. The expiration will mean the loss of
the ability to legally limit and verify the two countries' still
enormous numbers of deployed nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
Added Isaacs: "There is a very good chance things could
drag into 2010 because of the time-consuming nature of the
newly-created commissions, negotiations over specific numbers, and
gaining approval in the U.S. Senate."
"The congressional picture will come into better focus once more details and specific numbers are agreed upon," concluded Isaacs.
For background information on the START follow-on negotiations, visit the START Resource Center.
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to enhancing international peace and security in the 21st century. The Center is funded by grants from private foundations and the generosity of thousands of individual donors.
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