Public Papers - 1991 White House Fact Sheet on The Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Today, the United States and the
Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This
treaty marks the first agreement between the two countries in
which the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons will
actually be reduced. Reductions will take place over a period of
7 years, and will result in parity between the strategic nuclear
forces of the two sides at levels approximately 30 percent below
currently deployed forces. Deeper cuts are required in the most
dangerous and destabilizing systems. START provisions are
designed to strengthen strategic stability at lower levels and
to encourage the restructuring of strategic forces in ways that
make them more stable and less threatening. The treaty includes
a wide variety of very demanding verification measures designed
to ensure compliance and build confidence. The treaty sets equal
ceilings on the number of strategic nuclear forces that can be
deployed by eith