This report provides background information and a brief overview of the US and Russia's, objectives when they first began discussions on the new START treaty.

It also provides a summary of how they resolved the differences when concluding the negotiations, and a brief review of the issues raised during the treaty's ratification debates.

The report describes the key provisions in the treaty and presents illustrative forces that each side might deploy in the next ten years, and offers a brief assessment of how each nation fared in achieving its objectives when negotiating the arms control agreement.