U.S., Russia, 3 others sign arms agreements

The United States, Russia and three other ex-Soviet states Friday signed a handful of arms agreements that could finally clear the way for a new round of radical reductions in strategic weapons.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and counterparts from Ukraine, Kazahkstan and Belarus participated in the upbeat ceremony on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly.The accords "should pave the way for Russian Duma (parliament) ratification of the START-2 treaty that will trigger deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals," Albright said.

But critics such as the Union of Concerned Scientists say the agree-ments could thwart proposed reductions beyond START-2 and persuade countries with small nuclear arsenals such as China to increase their stockpile.

The U.S. aim is to give Russia more confidence that if it commits to further reductions in strategic nuclear weapons, Washington will not try to gain new advantage by deploying missile defense systems that would undercut Moscow's remaining strategic arsenal.

Russia and the United States also signed a protocol extending from the beginning of 2003 to the end of 2007 - a deferral of five years - the period stipulated for implementation of the START-2 treaty.

Experts say this gives Russia "political breathing room" before it is forced to get rid of its most lethal weapons. This provides time to evaluate the impact of NATO expansion - which Moscow fears - and the U.S. missile defense programs.

Primakov said the accords marked a "radical success" that would determine the course of arms control for years to come.

But he and his counterparts from other ex-Soviet states stressed that the agreements did not resolve all disputes over the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and that these serious problems must continue to be worked on.

The START-2 treaty, signed in 1993 but never put into effect, would slash U.S.-Russian long-range nuclear arsenals by up to two-thirds and deprive Moscow of its cherished and most powerful weapon - heavy missiles with multiple warheads.

Negotiators from the five countries completed the texts of the missile defense agreements, which had been in the works for four years, last Aug. 21 in Geneva.

They aimed to address the spread of short-range ballistic missiles, dramatized by their use in the 1991 gulf war in Iraq, and the increasingly popular development of systems designed to shoot them down.

The goal has been an accord that would permit so-called "theater" anti-missile defense (TMD) systems without violating the 1972 U.S.-Soviet ABM treaty, which limits defenses against long-range strategic missiles.

Last March's U.S.-Russia summit in Helsinki broke the logjam on the complex issue by setting limits on the speed and range of target missiles to be used in testing theater systems.