Sydney, March 27: Australia Saturday hailed the United States and Russia’s “landmark” agreement to slash nuclear weapons, calling it a major step towards the eventual goal of global disarmament.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith congratulated presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev on the historic accord to cut the number of deployed warheads by about one third.
“The new START agreement provides for substantial reductions in the numbers of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile launchers deployed by the United States and Russia,” Smith said in a statement.
The new pact, due to be signed April 8 in Prague by both the presidents of the former Cold War foes, replaces the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expired in December.
Obama described the deal, which follows months of intense negotiations, as “the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades”.
It specifies limits of 1,550 deployed warheads, which is about 30 percent lower than a previous upper warhead limit set in 2002.
–Agencies