ACCESSION NUMBER:231951 FILE ID:TX-429 DATE:06/18/92 TITLE:SIDE LETTER ON REDUCTIONS IN STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS (06/18/92) TEXT:*92061829.TXT SIDE LETTER ON REDUCTIONS IN STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS (Text: Understandings on U.S.-Russian accord) (310) (The following side letter, signed by Secretary of State Baker and Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev, on U.S.-Russian reductions in strategic offensive arms was issued June 18 by the State Department.) In a separate letter, Secretary Baker outlines understandings reached concerning the implementation of the Joint Understanding signed by President's Bush and Yeltsin. Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev signed the letter as having accepted and agreed to the points in the letter. The START Treaty provides numerical limits for downloading strategic ballistic missile warheads; aggregate downloading is limited to not more than 1250 warheads at any one time. In addition, except for the Minuteman-III and SS-N-18, neither side may download more than 500 warheads. The letter makes clear that the reductions to reach the limits in the Joint Understanding may exceed these limits. 1 The START Treaty also requires that, if a missile is downloaded by more than two reentry vehicles, then its reentry vehicle platform must be destroyed and replaced with a new reentry vehicle platform. In the interest of facilitating additional reductions in warheads at the least cost, this provision does not apply to the Joint Understanding. The side letter makes clear that missiles that have been downloaded pursuant to this new understanding may not be uploaded to their former status. The letter states that conversion will not be required for up to 100 heavy bombers that have been reoriented for conventional roles. The letter states that these provisions will be incorporated into the treaty that will record the agreements in the Joint Understanding signed by the presidents today. The United States also provides a separate assurance that bombers that have been so reoriented will be used solely for conventional missions. NNNN .
