MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and the United States have agreed that the ceilings on strategic delivery vehicles so should lie within 500-1,100 units and their related warheads within 1,500-1,675 units within seven years from the effective date of a relevant agreement, according to a document of joint understanding on the issue of further reductions and limitations of strategic offensive arms, adopted on Monday.
The specific figures to be fixed at these ceilings in the agreement will be agreed upon at further talks, along with provisions regarding the calculation of these ceilings, the document said.
The future agreement will contain a provision concerning definitions, the exchange of data, notifications, disposal, inspection and verification procedures, as well as measures to strengthen confidence and transparency in relevant cases, adapted, facilitated and made less costly compared to the START agreement.
The following provisions will be agreed to ensure that the new agreement, stipulates, among other things, the following elements:
A provision that each party will independently determine the composition and structure of its strategic offensive arms;
A provision about interrelation between strategic offensive and strategic defense arms, a provision about the impact of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched non-nuclear ballistic missiles on strategic stability;
and a provision about strategic offensive arms being based exclusively in the national territory of each party.
The agreement must contain a clause setting up an executive body to solve matters related to the implementation of the agreement, a provision that the agreement will not be applied to further practice of cooperation in the field strategic offensive arms between one of the parties and a third state.
The agreement will be valid for ten years, unless replaced earlier by a further agreement on reduction of strategic offensive arms.
The presidents ordered the negotiators to complete the preparation of the agreement in the nearest future so that they can sign and submit it for ratification in their respective countries.