01 April 2000

The brief chronology below lists policy declarations, milestones and other actions by the United States related to the nuclear disarmament section of the Principles and Objectives Decision from the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference. The list is not intended to be comprehensive.

May  - Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin declare that excess fissile material will not be reused in nuclear weapons; and that no newly produced fissile material will be used in nuclear weapons.

August - Over 10,000 U.S. nuclear weapons dismantled since the end of the Cold War.

September - President Clinton declares that cooperation with the states of the former Soviet Union in improving the security of nuclear materials is a top U.S. priority.

January - U.S. Senate gives its advice and consent to ratification of START II

March - U.S. signs Protocols to South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty.

April - U.S. signs Protocols to African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty.

May - U.S., NATO allies and former USSR-bloc states adopt new measures related to conventional military equipment in the CFE Treaty��s flank area

July - U.S. announces that it will blend excess U.S. weapons-grade uranium to a form unusable in nuclear weapons. (63 tons had been targeted for such blending.)

September - President Clinton signs CTBT

                  -  At the UNGA President Clinton pledges to work toward a century in which the roles and risks of nuclear weapons can be further reduced, and ultimately eliminated

                  - US.-Russia-IAEA Trilateral Initiative begins with the goal of an agreement for verifying the irreversible removal of fissile material from nuclear weapon programs.

                  - U.S. offers another 26 tons of excess fissile material for MEA inspection.

December - U.S. is below START I limit on launchers and bombers, well ahead of the deadline set in the Treaty.

January - U.S. announces 2-track decision for disposition of excess U.S. plutonium from the military stockpile into forms unusable in nuclear weapons. 34 tons is targeted for such disposition.

March - Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin agree on START III key elements.

April - U.S. becomes original State Party to Chemical Weapons Convention.

September - U.S. and Russia agree to START II Extension Protocol and codify commitment to early deactivation of systems to be eliminated under START II once it enters into force.

                 - P-5 Foreign Ministers issue a statement at the UNGA supporting FMCT

                 - U.S. and Russia sign Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement.

                 - U.S. offers another 52 tons of excess fissile material for L4EA inspection.

                 - President Clinton submits CTBT to Senate.

November - Presidential Directive updates nuclear strategy by eliminating Cold War rhetoric that included reference to winning a protracted nuclear war. It reaffirms U.S. negative security assurance policy and supports START III force levels.

December - Warhead reduction deadline under START I; U.S. ahead of schedule.

                 - IAEA begins to verify down blending of US. weapon-grade uranium.

                 - Number of sites in the former USSR with agreements for U.S. assistance in upgrading fissile material security reaches 47.

January - In a message to the Conference on Disarmament, President Clinton urges progress on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty as the next multilateral step in the nuclear disarmament process.

June  - P-5 Foreign Ministers underscore their determination to fulfill their commitments related to nuclear disarmament under Article VI of the NPT

September - Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin agree on a number of steps related to NPT Article VI

                 - They affirm the ultimate goal of nuclear disarmament.

                 - They issue a statement of principles on disposition of plutonium from nuclear weapon programs

                 - They agree on an effort to exchange information on missile launches and early warning.

                 - U.S. and Russia establish Nuclear Cities Initiative to assist in transition to commercial activities of Russian nuclear weapons infrastructure.

January - President Clinton proposes an expanded program with states of the former Soviet Union to address high priority arms control and nonproliferation issues. The Administration seeks an additional $4.5 billion from Congress over next five years.

April - U.S. joins its NATO allies in issuing a revised Strategic Concept that reflects continued reduction of reliance on nuclear weapons. NATO has reduced numbers of its substrategic nuclear weapons another 20% since 1995 for a total reduction of more than 85% since 1991.

June - U.S. and Russia announce their intention to begin discussions on START III

        - US. and Russia extend Cooperative Threat Program for another seven years.

August  - U.S.-Russian START III discussions begin (and have continued regularly).

September - P-5 Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitments to nuclear disarmament and recalled their declarations on security assurances for NPT parties.

November - U.S., NATO allies and former USSR-bloc states adapt the CFE Treaty to bring it into line with the reality of today's post-Cold War Europe.

December - Warhead reduction deadline under START I: U.S. ahead of schedule.

January - Number of sites in the former USSR with agreements for U.S. assistance in upgrading fissile material security totals 55. Quantity of weapon-usable fissile material targeted by this program is some 650 tons. More than $700 million allocated thus far.

February - Amount allocated by US. toward Cooperative Threat Reduction program reaches $3.2 billion. This has helped to eliminate about 1, 000 missile launchers, missiles, and bombers in the former USSR.

March - President Clinton issues NPT 30th anniversary statement and declares that "the United States is committed to the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons."

April - Substantial progress reported on U.S.-Russian-IAEA Trilateral Initiative for verifying fissile material removed from nuclear weapon programs and on U.S.-Russian negotiations for disposing of plutonium from nuclear weapon programs.

        - Over 13, 000 U.S. nuclear weapons dismantled since the end of the Cold War.