Overview Treaty Summary Treaty Text and Documents Archived Treaty Developments
To return to the main Nuclear Disarmament Treaties and Agreements entry, see the Arms Control Treaties and Agreements file
For recent developments, see the Strategic Forces General Developments file.

Treaty Status

During a meeting in Helsinki in March 1997 US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin adopted a Joint Statement that committed both countries to begin START III negotiations as soon as START II enters into force. The two sides began consultations on strategic stability in the summer of 1997 the continued until the fall of 2000. During the September 1998 summit in Moscow the two presidents reaffirmed their commitment to begin formal START III negotiations after Russia's ratification of START II. In 2000 the United States and Russia exchanged draft START III texts. 

Treaty Summary

The basic provisions of START III, as laid out in the Helsinki Joint Statement of 21 March 1997, would include reducing the aggregate levels of strategic nuclear warheads to 2,000-2,500 per side, establishing strategic nuclear inventory transparency measures, ensuring irreversibility of the reductions, and making the START I and II treaties unlimited in duration. The Joint Statement also includes language supporting confidence-building and transparency measures concerning long-range sea-launched cruise missiles and tactical nuclear weapons, which would be explored as separate issues in START III context.

In 2000 the Russian Federation officially proposed a lower aggregate level ceiling of 1,000-1,500, position which so far has not received US support. Since the beginning of START III discussions, the Russian Federation has made START III negotiations contingent on US support for the preservation of the ABM Treaty.

Treaty-Related Documents

Helsinki Joint Statement, 21 March 1997 

Joint Statement Between the United States and the Russian Federation Concerning Strategic Offensive and Defensive Arms and Further Strengthening of Stability. Issued 20 June 1999 in Cologne. English and Russian text.[Entered 4/19/2001 MJ]

Page last updated 22 August 2001
For more recent developments, please see the Strategic Forces General Developments file.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.

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