At a session of the UN General Assembly Russia and the U.S. called on other states to join their nuclear disarmament efforts, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Tuesday.
Russia and the U.S. presented to the General Assembly the new strategic arms reduction treaty, signed by the leaders of the two states on April 8 in Prague.
Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said the new treaty "heralds the transition to a higher level of Russian-U.S. cooperation in disarmament and non-proliferation, lays the basis for new relation in military-strategic area and confirms that the two states have common goals in strengthening bilateral and global security."
"We call on all states without exception, first and foremost those having nuclear arsenals, to join Russian and U.S. efforts in this direction and to contribute actively to the disarmament process," Churkin said.
"We expect that the conclusion of a new Russian-U.S. Treaty on strategic arms reduction will have a positive effect on strengthening the regimes of WMA non-proliferation, [and] extension of nuclear disarmament process," he said.
In the treaty, the two countries, which possess about 90% of global arsenals of nuclear weapons, agreed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 1,550 on each side and the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles to 800 on each side.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice called the deal "a major milestone" and encouraged all countries to build on the recent momentum to make "real progress" on disarmament.
"Our joint appearance here today is a sign of the much strengthened relationship between our two nations - a relationship built on candor, cooperation and mutual respect," she said.
NEW YORK, April 20 (RIA Novosti)
