SORT
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The Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT), better known as the Moscow Treaty, is a 2002 treaty between Russia and the United States limiting their nuclear arsenal to 1700–2200 operationally deployed warheads each. It was signed in Moscow on May 24, 2002. SORT is in force since June 1, 2003 after the Bush-Putin ratification in St. Petersburg, and expires in December 31, 2012. Either party can withdraw from the treaty upon giving three months written notice to the other.
It is the latest in a long line of treaties and negotiations on mutual nuclear disarmament between Russia (and its predecessor the Soviet Union) and the United States, which includes SALT I (1969–1972), ABM Treaty (1972), SALT II (1972–1979), INF Treaty (1987), START I (1991), START II (1993), and Start III that never even was properly negotiated, and died as of the linkage to START II.
The Moscow Treaty is different from START in that it limits actual warheads, whereas START I limits warheads only through declared attribution to their means of delivery (ICBMs, SLBMs, and Heavy Bombers).[citation needed]
Russian and U.S. delegations meet twice a year to discuss the implementation of the Moscow Treaty at the Bilateral Implementation Commission, or "BIC".
The treaty has been criticized for various reasons:
- There are no verification provisions.
- The reductions are not required to be permanent; warheads may be placed in storage and later redeployed.
- The reductions are required to be completed only by the time the treaty expires, namely December 31, 2012.
[edit] SORT, arms control and the Bush administration
The above criticisms are best viewed in conjunction with relevant circumstances surrounding the current administration. During the Cold War, it became clear to most people on both sides of the Iron Curtain that a continued arms race in an environment of brinkmanship would only lead to financial difficulties and would not solve the nuclear dilema; hence, arms control. Consequently, advances in arms control have become customary norms for leaders in both Washington and Moscow; the Moscow Treaty is apparently George W. Bush's contribution to the process.
In 2002, information was leaked from a classified document, the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which is required by law to assess the state of the current U.S. nuclear arsenal, outline projections, and address policy. The leaked information showed an interest by the Bush administration to pursue a new nuclear triad consisting of new offensive nuclear strike systems, ballistic missile defenses, and a revitalized nuclear infrastructure.
