For Immediate Release

President Clinton and President Yeltsin today agreed on a new initiativefor the exchange of information on missile launches and early warning.This agreement reaffirms the U.S.-Russian shared commitment to reduce thedanger of nuclear conflict, strengthen strategic and regional stability,and develop common responses to the threat posed by the continuing globalproliferation of ballistic missiles.

The U.S.-Russian agreement to share early warning information on the launchof ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles will significantly reducethe danger that ballistic missiles could be launched inadvertently on thebasis of false warning of attack. It will also promote increased mutualconfidence in the capabilities of the ballistic missile early warningsystems of both sides. This initiative builds upon previous work andcommits the two sides to develop advance planning and practicalimplementation as soon as possible.

The U.S. and Russia will develop arrangements for providing each other withcontinuous information on the launches of strategic and theater ballisticmissiles and space launch vehicles detected by their respective earlywarning systems. Missile launch information could be sent to each side'snational early warning centers, and possibly to a center operated by U.S.and Russian personnel working together, side-by-side. The U.S. and Russiawill also work towards establishing a multilateral ballistic missile andspace launch vehicle pre-launch notification regime in which other stateswould be invited to participate.