OREANDA-NEWS. May 13, 2010. The Russian Federation and the United States of America view the signing of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SOAs) by Presidents D.A.Medvedev and B.Obama in Prague on April 8, 2010, as an important step on the path to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

By signing the Treaty, Russia and the U.S. have once again demonstrated their unwavering commitment to fulfilling their obligations under Article VI of the NPT. The verifiable and irreversible cuts provided for by the new Treaty will reduce the deployed nuclear arsenals of the parties to the level of fifty years ago, when the nuclear arms race began.

We believe that the newly agreed reductions in strategic offensive armaments will strengthen the security of both Russia and the U.S. and will make relations between our countries more stable, transparent, and predictable. They will thus have a beneficial effect on international stability and security. The Treaty, therefore, is not only in the interests of our two countries, but of the entire world community. Everyone will win as a result of its implementation.

The Treaty ushers in the transition to a higher level of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. with respect to disarmament and non-proliferation. It lays the foundation for qualitatively new bilateral relations in the strategic military field and, in effect, marks the final end of the "Cold War" period. We expect that the signing and entry into force of the new START Treaty will pave the way for an increasingly productive and mutually beneficial partnership between Russia and the U.S. concerning the most relevant issues on the global agenda.

The Russian Federation and the United States of America are making early ratification of the Treaty, as well as the complete and faithful implementation of its provisions, a priority. In the context of the world community's common aspirations for achieving the ultimate goal - liberating humanity from the nuclear threat - we call upon all countries that have nuclear weapons to join in the efforts we are making in this arena, and to make an active contribution to the cause of reducing and limiting nuclear arms in conditions of strengthening international stability and ensuring equal and indivisible security for all.