14 April 2000

Text: Albright Statement on Russian Ratification of START II Treaty

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright issued the following statement April 14 after the Russian Duma voted to ratify START II, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty:

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
(Kiev, Ukraine)
April 14, 2000
Statement by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

I congratulate the Russian people on the Duma's decisive ratification of the START II Treaty. This is a big step forward. We look forward to intensifying our discussions on next steps in our arms control dialogue and other issues when Foreign Minister Ivanov comes to Washington later this month.

This vote is indeed an historic step which will help improve security for all of us.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)