UN chief welcomes US-Russia arms reduction pact

New York, July 8

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday praised the new pact by the US and Russia to reduce by as much as a third of their nuclear arsenals, which was reached in Moscow between the leaders of the two countries.

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed Monday a Joint Understanding for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), committing themselves to reduce strategic warheads to a range of 1,500-1,675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1,000.

Ban said the agreement is consistent with disarmament obligations by the two largest nuclear-weapon states under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

"I believe that this agreement will make a significant contribution to the process of nuclear disarmament as well as nuclear non-proliferation during the lead up to the 2010 NPT Review Conference and eventually to achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world," Ban said in a statement.

The UN will conduct a review of the NPT next year with the aim of strengthening global disarmament efforts.

Last updated on Jul 8^th, 2009 at 06:58 am IST--DPA

Possibly related news:

Other News Headlines

Dalai Lama hopeful PM will raise Tibet issue in US

New Delhi, Nov 21

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Saturday described Manmohan Singh as a "clean politician" and said he was hopeful the prime minister would do whatever possible on the Tibetan issue when he meets US President Barack Obama next week.

Manmohan heads to US, to meet Obama Tuesday

New Delhi, Nov 21

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday left for a four-day visit to the US as the first state guest of President Barack Obama.

Carbon dioxide emissions up by 29 percent: Report

London, Nov 21

Carbon dioxide emissions are up by 29 percent since 2000, far beyond the capacity of the global "sinks" to absorb such volumes, says a report.

Sikh man could become first non-white member of British far-right group

London, Nov 21

An elderly Sikh man's closeness to the British National Party (BNP) has set off furious speculation that he may become the first non-white member of the far-right group if and when it drops its whites-only criteria.

Heidi Klum back on runway

New York, Nov 21

German supermodel Heidi Klum has returned to the runway just five weeks after giving birth to her fourth child.

Enter Your Name and Email below and Post your comment
Name	Email:
Comment:

Please login to use this service
Usermame :
Password :
Quick signup \| Forgot Password