Statement by
J. Sherwood McGinnis
Deputy Permanent Representative
U.S. Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament
to the Conference on Disarmament

Geneva June 5, 2003

Mr. President,

On behalf of the United States Delegation, I wish to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of our Conference. Our delegation has confidence in your ability and wisdom in guiding the work of this body, and we look forward to supporting your efforts in every way possible.

Mr. President, our Delegation would like to highlight very briefly an event over this past weekend that represents a historic step toward a safer and more secure world. On June 1 in St. Petersburg in the Russian Federation, Presidents Bush and Putin exchanged instruments of ratification for the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions, known as the Moscow Treaty. The Treaty entered into force that day. This joint action demonstrates anew, in the most concrete fashion possible, the continuing dedication of the United States and the Russian Federation to disarmament.

The Moscow Treaty provides for reductions of about two-thirds in the strategic nuclear warhead arsenals of our two countries, bringing them to the lowest level in decades. The Treaty demonstrates the resolve of our two countries to meet our commitments under Article Six of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the dramatic cuts that the Moscow Treaty entails represent a concrete, on-the-ground contribution to the NPT's ultimate goals.

Just as importantly, the Treaty serves as another indication of the rapidly transforming relationship between the United States and Russia, a development which in itself has altered dramatically the international security environment. As President Bush noted in announcing the exchange of ratification instruments, the Moscow Treaty was "founded on mutual respect and a common commitment to a more secure world." The President went on to highlight U.S.-Russian cooperation and joint determination to fight terrorism and to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

As Ambassador de La Fortelle has elaborated in detail, at the Evian Summit, G-8 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the NPT, CWC and BWC. The G-8 leaders called these treaties, and I quote, "the essential instruments to maintain international peace and security and cornerstones of nonproliferation and disarmament."
Mr. President, we believe the full membership of the Conference on Disarmament will join us in welcoming the important contribution to the cause of nuclear disarmament and the enhancement of international security that these developments represent.

Thank you, Mr. President.