The United States and Russia believe they are days from completing a new arms control treaty calling for the Cold War rivals to further draw down their nuclear arsenals, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, March 22).

“We are literally on the verge — I think the business will be done within a few days,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, adding it remained unclear when U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would sign the document.

Obama and Medvedev pledged last July to cut their nations’ respective strategic arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 deployed nuclear warheads under a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December. Negotiators have reportedly also agreed to reduce each state’s arsenal of nuclear delivery vehicles — missiles, submarines and bombers — to between 700 and 800, down from a 1,100-vehicle limit set earlier by the leaders (RIA Novosti I, March 22).

The rest of the story -http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100323_7849.php

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In the meantime Iran, China and North Korea are working hard on their arsenals. The only good news is that any treaty will have to be ratified by 67 senators and 41 have already said no, kind of. But this is still a test for Republicans if they believe in “providing for the common defense” they will stand fast and say no to any further cuts to our military or our military capabilities.