Start of denuclearization

With the new START treaty between the United States and Russia coming into effect on Saturday, it is to be hoped that our planet is one step closer toward the long-cherished dream of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

The pact, built on the 1991 START, or Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads, down from 2,200, or a cut of 30 percent. The two nuclear superpowers will limit their deployed strategic launchers and heavy bombers to 700.

Negotiated last year, the new START was approved by the US Senate in December and the Russian parliament last month. It has been widely perceived as the most comprehensive nuclear disarmament pact in 20 years and it marks a new stage in international nuclear arms control and denuclearization.