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NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS

December 24, 2007: The U.S. has confirmed that it will abide by the 2002 arms control treaty it negotiated with Russia, and reduce its nuclear warhead arsenal to under 2,200 (from the current 6,000) by 2012. The United States will also begin dismantling older nuclear weapons, and recycling the nuclear material for power generation.

There will also be a consolidation of nuclear facilities, with radioactive material concentrated in five facilities (from the current eight). This will make it easier to improve the security of those five locations with nuclear material.

Russia is also reducing its nuclear arsenal. Both nations have negotiated a number of nuclear weapons reduction treaties over the last three decades. Although not all those treaties were officially approved by both governments, all have generally been carried out.