January 1992 [N] Russian President Boris Yeltsin
reiterates Gorbachev's offer to negotiate with the United States on a Fissile
Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).
Jan 13 1992 [O] Russia announces its succession
to the Soviet Union in all treaties. As such, Russia will assume the responsibilities and obligations contained in treaties to which the Soviet Union was a signatory.
Jan 20 1992 [N] North and
South Korea agree to the Joint Declaration of South and North Korea on the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, whereby both states agree not to
"test, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons; to
use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes; and not to possess facilities
for nuclear reprocessing of uranium enrichment."
Jan 28 1992 [M] U.S. President George Bush in
his State of the Union Address announces the cancellation of the Midgetman
Missile Program and a halt to production of W-88 warheads and MX2 test missiles.
He also announces that the production of the B-2 bomber
will stop at 20 planes and that the production of advanced cruises
missiles will be capped at 640 missiles.
Jan 31 1992 [B, N, C, O] At the meeting of the
UN Security Council held at the level of heads of state or government, the
Council emphasizes the threat that WMD proliferation constitutes to international
peace and security.
Feb 1 1992 [B] Russian President Boris Yeltsin
announces the end of Russian BW
research, which had continued in secret after the U.S.SR had signed the BWC
in April 1972. Yeltsin further states that several Russian BW centers and
programs have already been closed and that no further budget allocations will
be made for that program.
Feb 7 1992 [N] Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan
of Pakistan admits in an interview with the Washington Post that his
country has the components to assemble at least one nuclear bomb.
Feb 17 1992 [N] The Joint Declaration of South
and North Korea on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula enters into
force (see January 20,1992 above).
March 9 1992 [N] China accedes to the NPT
as a nuclear weapon state.
March 24 1992 [O] The Treaty on Open Skies is
signed. Member states in Eurasia and North America agree to open their airspace,
on a reciprocal basis, and to permit the over flight of their territory by
unarmed observation aircraft in order to strengthen confidence and transparency
with respect to their military activities. The treaty will enter into force
after 20 states have deposited instruments of ratification.
April 3 1992 [N] The 27-member Nuclear
Suppliers Group revises its "Guidelines for transfers of nuclear-related
dual-use equipment, material and related technology," requiring full-scope
safeguards as a condition
of export.
April 8 1992 [N] French Premier Pierre Beregovoy
announces that France will suspend nuclear testing.
May 21 1992 [N] China conducts a one-megaton
underground nuclear weapon test, its largest test ever.
May 23 1992 [N] The United States signs the
Lisbon Protocol
to START I with Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine,
as successor states of the former U.S.SR in connection with START I. Under the
protocol, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine agree to adhere to the NPT
as non-nuclear-weapon
states in the shortest possible time and they agree to transfer to Russia
all nuclear weapons that remained on their territories after the dissolution
of the U.S.SR.
June 1 1992 [N] The U.S. Strategic Air Command
(SAC) is dissolved and replaced with the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM).
For the first time in U.S. history, the planning, targeting and wartime employment
of nuclear forces came under the control of a single commander while the day-to-day
training, equipping and maintenance responsibilities for its forces remained
with the the air force and navy.
June 15 1992 [N] U.K. Defense Minister Tom King
announces that the British Navy will no longer routinely carry nuclear weapons
on their surface ships and that the weapons previously earmarked for this
role will be destroyed.
June 16 1992 [N] President Bush and President
Yeltsin sign a joint understanding, which limits the number of strategic nuclear
warheads to 3,000-3,500 for each country by 2003. The joint understanding
will become the basis for the START
II.
June 17 1992 [N] Russian President Boris Yeltsin
addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, stating that the nuclear weapons
of the Cold War "turned out to be obsolete and unnecessary to mankind. And
it is now simply a matter of calculating the best way and the best time schedule
for destroying them and getting rid of them."
June 17 1992 [M] The United States and Russia
agree to create a high-level group to explore the concept of a Global Protection
System (GPS). Discussions will include: the sharing of early warning information
and the establishment of an early warning center; cooperation in developing
ballistic missile defense
capabilities and technologies; and the development of a legal framework for
cooperation that would include new treaties and agreements and possible amendment
of existing treaties and agreements necessary to implement a GPS.
July 2 1992 [N] The Kazakhstani parliament ratifies
START I.
July 13 1992 [N] President Bush announced a
nonproliferation initiative that includes an end to the U.S. production of HEU
and plutonium for weapons
purposes.
July 13 1992 [M] A senior level U.S. government
official reports that U.S. presidential candidate Bill Clinton would adhere
to the "narrow," or "traditional," interpretation of the ABM
Treaty. According to the 'narrow' interpretation of the ABM Treaty, the
development, testing, and deployment of sea-based, air-based, space-based,
and mobile land-based ABM systems and components are prohibited.
Aug 3 1992 [N] France accedes to the NPT
as a nuclear weapon state.
Aug 4 1992 [N] The U.S. Senate votes 68 to 26
for a nine-month moratorium on nuclear weapons testing beginning October 1,
1992, and a final cut-off of all testing and completion of a comprehensive
test ban treaty by September 30, 1996.
Aug 19 1992 [C] The India-Pakistan Agreement
on Chemical Weapons is signed, providing for "the complete prohibition of
chemical weapons." The agreement commits both governments to sign the CWC,
but does not commit them to ratify the treaty.
Sept 3 1992 [C] The Conference
on Disarmament agrees on the CWC and forwards
it to the United Nations.
Sept 3 1992 [C] United Nations approves the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC).
Sept 10-11 1992 [B] A U.K.-U.S.-Russian Joint Statement
on Biological Weapons is issued at the conclusion of a trilateral meeting
in Moscow. The three states agree to information exchange about past offensive
BW research activities
and reciprocal site visits to military and non-military facilities of possible
compliance concern. These measures are intended to remove any questions about
whether the three states have BW and thus to demonstrate full compliance with
the 1972 BWC.
Oct 2 1992 [N] President Bush signs the Hatfield
Amendment into law and establishes a nine-month, unilateral nuclear testing
moratorium. President Clinton will subsequently extend the moratorium through
September 1994 and then through September 1996.
Oct 9 1992 [O, M] The Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), the states that once formed the Soviet Union, sign the Bishkek
Agreement pledging to support and implement the ABM
Treaty.
Oct 19 1992 [N] President Yeltsin extends the
Russian nuclear testing moratorium until July 1, 1993.
Oct 22-23 1992 [N] Belarus agrees to transfer
its nuclear missiles to Russia.
Nov 3 1992 [M] U.S. President-elect Bill Clinton
announces his support of the development and deployment of theater
missile defense (TMD) systems to protect U.S. troops from short-
and medium-range missiles.
Dec 10 1992 [C] The Australia
Group issues its first joint background paper on the group's efforts to
harmonize national export controls on precursor
chemicals that could be used to manufacture CW, to share information,
and to curb the use of CW.
Dec 13 1992 [N] The Kazakhstani parliament ratifies
the NPT.
Dec 13 1992 [N] President Carlos Menem of Argentina
and President Fernando Collor de Mello of Brazil sign a pledge not to build
nuclear weapons. Under the terms of the pledge, each state has the right to
inspect the other's nuclear installations to ensure compliance.
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