Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to recognize that the ABM treaty is a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Russian federation, formerly the Soviet Union, and that the United States has acted within the terms of that treaty in giving six months' notice.
It is the hope of our government that during the process of the six months' notice period the parties will be able to agree on a new strategic framework which not only will include the basis for arms control and disarmament between them, but will also provide a verifiable and transparent system to supervise the reduction in offensive weapons that both parties have promised to initiate.