For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 13, 2002

President Announces Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia
Remarks by the President Upon Departure
The South Lawn

8:32 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

THE PRESS: Good morning.

THE PRESIDENT: Today I'm pleased to announce that the United States and Russia has agreed to a treaty which will substantially reduce our nuclear arsenals to the agreed-upon range of 1,700 to 2,200 warheads. This treaty will liquidate the legacy of the Cold War.

When I sign the treaty with President Putin in Russia, it will begin the new era of U.S.-Russian relationships. And that's important. The new era will be a period of enhanced mutual security, economic security, and improved relations.

I look forward to going to Moscow to sign this treaty. It is -- it will be the culmination of a lot of months of hard work, and a relationship built on mutual trust that I established with President Putin in Slovenia.

This is good news for the American people today. It'll make the world more peaceful, and put behind us the Cold War once and for all.

Thank you all.

END 8:34 A.M. EDT