1993 START II Treaty

25 years ago, on January 3, 1993, Presidents Boris Yeltsin and George W. Bush signed in Moscow an agreement between Russia and the United States on the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (START II). It provided for the reduction by January 2003 of the number of nuclear warheads in Russia and the United States to 3,500 units.

The treaty was never ratified by the Russian side, formally due to the lack of funds in the budget for its implementation, but in fact due to the growing imperial tendencies in Russian politics. In 2002, Russia withdrew from START II in response to the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.