U.S. - Russian Nuclear Arsenal Numbers Released

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US: Russia Cutting Nuclear Arsenal Faster Than Required -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters

Moscow's 1,537 deployed strategic nuclear warheads are just under the 1,550 it must reach by 2018 under the New START arms reduction pact.

Russia has 1,537 deployed strategic nuclear warheads, just under the 1,550 ceiling it is obliged to reach by 2018 under the New START nuclear arms reduction pact, while the United States has 1,800, according to a State Department fact sheet.

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More News On The U.S. - Russian Nuclear Arsenal

Mandatory reporting of nuclear weapons shows the US has one-third more deployed nuclear weapons than Russia -- The Australian/AFP
Russian Deployed Strategic Arsenal Below Limit Set by New START -- Global Security Newswire
US, Russia nuclear arsenal data released -- AFP
Russia cuts nuclear arsenal faster than required -- Reuters
New START Aggregate Numbers Released: First Round Slim Picking -- FAS Strategic Security Blog
START-3 interim report -- Voice of Russia

U.S. Negotiator Signals Flexibility Toward Moscow Over New Round of Arms Talks

Components of a Peacekeeper missile are subjected to a wall of fire. Such testing helps determine how aging weapons will perform in the future. Photo from Whitehouse.gov

From The New York Times:

MOSCOW — The top arms control negotiator for the United States said on Monday that the government was willing to agree to count both nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles when renegotiating the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start — addressing one of Russia’s longstanding concerns.

In an interview with the Russian news service Interfax, the negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, also said the United States was open to a Russian proposal to use radar based in Azerbaijan or Southern Russia, rather than Eastern Europe, for the proposed missile defense system.

Officials from the administration of President George W. Bush had not followed up on the idea of relocating the radar from Eastern Europe, where Russia fears it would be part of a missile defense system that would be used against it. American officials have contended that the system is meant as a deterrent to Iran.

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My Comment:It is not normal to have the U.S. negotiator publicly state what the U.S. position is going to be .... I guess everyone (or at least some) are eager for an agreement.