The U.S. Senate passed the New START treaty by a vote of 71 to 26 on Wednesday, while the Russian parliament may give its approval to the pact as early as Friday afternoon.
"Within that period, 45 days after entry into force, we will also then be exchanging our first data for the database under the treaty," Gottemoeller, assistant secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, told a special briefing on Thursday.
"That's data on the current status and deployment of our strategic nuclear forces - intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers," she said.
She also said that the first inspections will take place within 60 days after entry into force.
The treaty, signed in April by the presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, trims both nations' nuclear arsenals to a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200....
It is a good beginning !
