Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush Sign the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) in Moscow

Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty during a bilateral meeting in Moscow, Russia. The agreement, commonly known as the Moscow Treaty, committed both countries to reducing their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 each by 31/12/2012. The treaty was signed at the Kremlin as part of a summit between the United States and Russia focused on arms control and cooperation following the end of the Cold War period. SORT aimed to lower the number of operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads held by the two countries, which at the time possessed the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. The treaty allowed each country flexibility in how it would achieve the reductions, including the storage or dismantlement of warheads removed from deployment. The agreement built on earlier arms reduction efforts such as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which had already reduced strategic nuclear forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. SORT represented continued cooperation between Washington and Moscow on nuclear arms control during the early 2000s and was later replaced by the New START, signed in 2010.