Bush to Cut U.S. Nuclear Stockpile

W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 13, 2001 -- In a gesture aimed at easing Russian opposition to a missile defense shield, President Bush announced today that he would eliminate more than two-thirds of the U.S. offensive nuclear stockpile.

"The current levels of our nuclear forces do not reflect today's strategic realities," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I have informed President Putin that the United States will reduce our operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level between 1,700 and 2,200 over the next decade, a level fully consistent with American security."

The United States has about 7,000 deployed warheads, against about 6,000 in Russia. At the end of the Cold War, each nation had as many as 10,000 warheads at the ready.

Russia Hesitates

Having just heard Bush's offer at a working lunch, Putin stopped short of agreeing to cut Russia's arsenal.

"We appreciate very much the decision by the president to reduce strategic offensive weapons," Putin said through an interpreter. "We, for our part, will try to respond in kind."

But while Putin said he wanted more than just a handshake deal with Bush — a "reliable and verifiable agreement" — the Russian leader said the days of gunning for the United States are over.

"We intend to dismantle, conclusively, the vestiges of the Cold War," Putin said, "and to develop a new, entirely new partnership for the long term."

But sharp differences still remain on the next step. Bush wants to tear up the ABM treaty, a 1972 agreement that bans defensive missiles, to make way for a U.S. missile shield. Putin wants to hold Bush to the treaty.

"The position of Russia remains unchanged," he said. "And we agreed to continue our dialogue and consultations on this."

Though the leaders will continue to discuss the matter over the next two days on Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Secretary of State Colin Powell signalled that quick progress is not expected.

"You got the public statement thatyou're going to have to live with for a while," Powell said.

Both sides had lowered expectations for Putin's journey to the United States, but the ex-KGB agent's summit with Bush marks a dramatic step forward in the relationship between the world's two remaining superpowers.

Putin arrived late Monday, and spent the evening as Bush's guest at Blair House, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.

The two met this morning, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said after the meetings that bulk of the discussions focused on counterterrorism and the war in Afghanistan.

Global Warming

Both men warmed to one another in their first meeting this summer in Slovenia, so much so that Bush was criticized in many U.S. quarters for being too naive in his embrace of the Russian.

"I looked the man in the eye, I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy, and we had a very good dialogue," Bush said. "I was able to get a sense of his soul."

At that earlier meeting, Bush tried to soften Putin's opposition to a U.S. missile defense, arguing the United States and Russia now are threatened by the same rogue elements the system aims to guard against. The terrorist attacks believed to have been plotted by Osama bin Laden — who recently mentioned Putin as a target — have bolstered that point.

Officials said the diplomatic "heavy lifting" would take place in today's Washington meetings. The two leaders will then spend two days at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, for more intimate and wide-ranging talks.

Though Putin shared the limelight with the U.S. president today, he takes to his own podium at the Russian Embassy this evening to deliver a wide-ranging speech on warming U.S.-Russian relations.

Putin was the first world leader to phone Bush with sympathies after hijacked jetliners destroyed the World Trade Centers and struck the Pentagon. When the United States put its worldwide forces on the highest alert in response to the attacks, Russia's military stood down.

— ABCNEWS' Brian Hartman, Katy Textor and Ann Compton