Luxembourg Forum Working Group Memorandum

MEMORANDUM

of theWorking Group of the International Luxembourg Forum

on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe

“Strategic Arms Control and Perspectives on the PrepCom for 2010 NPT Review Conference”

(Moscow, April 22, 2009)

Participants of the Working Group meeting of the Luxembourg Forum fully support the joint commitment by the Presidents of Russia and the United States of America to progress towards the achievement of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World as well as any other activities on the part of Russia, the USA, other nuclear weapon states and all countries of the world focused on this goal. As an integral element of a strategy aimed at strengthening regimes, mechanisms and institutes of nuclear non-proliferation, these initiatives should receive support from Russian and U.S. legislative bodies, the expert community, media and the public.

The participants of the Working Group consider it necessary that:

1. The USA and Russia should do everything to conclude by the end of 2009 a new legally binding Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to replace START-1. This new treaty should require the parties to reduce their strategic nuclear forces to no more than1,500 nuclear warheads and to 600-700 strategic delivery vehicles. To this end, both countries’ Presidents should create effective mechanisms for coordination and decision-making in the negotiation’s process and make the utmost efforts to obtain the support of legislative institutions, the media and public opinion.

2. The Parties should find a compromise on the appropriate counting rules of warheads and delivery vehicles reductions, promoting the principles of equal security, irreversibility of disarmament, mutual confidence, and maximum transparency. It is also necessary to agree on mutually acceptable verification system and confidence-building measures to implement the New Treaty.

3. The USA and Russia should vigorously pursue discussions of the issues of the expansion for long-range precision-guided conventional weapons and their effect on strategic stability.

4. In parallel, the USA and Russia should seek the mutually acceptable compromise on the plan of deployment of the ballistic missile defense (BMD) in Europe. In the long run, the two sides and their allies and partners should reach a settlement upon the cooperative use of ballistic missile early warning systems, development and deployment of BMD systems on the basis of cooperation.

5. The USA and Russia should initiate the engagement of Great Britain, France and China to the acceptance of the confidence-building measures and transparency, using the experience of information exchange gained by the two nuclear powers under START-1.

6. The USA, China, India and other countries should ratify without delay the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

7. The five NPT nuclear powers, other nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states should reinvigorate their efforts to conclude a verified Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty at an earliest possible time.

Members of the Supervisory and Advisory Councils of the International Luxembourg Forum