Abstract

On March 26th, the United States and Russia reached a new START agreement on strategic nuclear arsenals reduction, which will be signed in Prague on April 8th. Negotiations are expected to long before the Russian and American Parliaments ratify the text, even though several months have already been ncecessary to overcome technical obstacles and to satisfy requirements on both sides. Not only does the new agreement seal the rebirth of the russian-american dialogue but it also represents a major breakthrough on the path toward a global and complete disarmament. As a matter of fact, although this final perspective set by the Non-proliferation Treaty remains distant, some initiatives, which have mobilized governments on a global scale, have emerged, strengthening the American-Russian approach and pushing to work in favour of a gradual elimination of such armaments.

Key words : START, NPT, nuclear disarmament, Global Zero, arsenal, proliferation, deterrence, missile, launcher, warhead, anti-missile defense shield.