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{{Short description|Proposed arms control treaty between the United States and Russia}}
{{about|a proposed but unsigned treaty|the treaty succeeding the '''START I''' treaty|New START}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2010}}
'''START III''' ('''Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty''') was a proposed bilateral [[arms control]] treaty between the [[United States]] and [[Russia]] that was meant to reduce the deployed [[nuclear weapons]] arsenals of both countries drastically and to continue the weapons reduction efforts that had taken place in the [[START I]] and [[START II]] negotiations. The framework for negotiations of the treaty began with talks in [[Helsinki]] between US President [[Bill Clinton]] and Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]] in 1997. However, negotiations broke down, and the treaty was never signed.

Proposed basic elements of the treaty included:<ref name=":0">Arms Control Association, [http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/start3 The START III Framework at a Glance], 2002</ref>
* By December 31, 2007, coterminous with START II, the US and Russia would each deploy no more than 2,000 to 2,500 [[Strategic nuclear weapon|strategic nuclear warheads]] on [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s, [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]]s, and [[heavy bomber]]s. Russian officials stated that they were willing to consider negotiated levels as low as 1,500 strategic nuclear warheads within the context of a START III agreement.<ref name=":0" />
* The US and Russia would negotiate measures relating to the transparency of strategic nuclear warhead inventories and the destruction of strategic nuclear warheads as well as other jointly agreed technical and organizational measures to promote the irreversibility of deep reductions.

The talks faced a number of obstacles. The Russian [[State Duma]]'s refusal to ratify the START II treaty delayed the start of formal negotiations by more than two years after Yeltsin and Clinton completed the initial framework discussions in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/06/22/clinton-yeltsin-plan-new-talks-on-nuclear-arms/0afa6381-cac8-430e-97ae-59757c6bb248/|title=Clinton, Yeltsin Plan New Talks On Nuclear Arms|last=Hoffman|first=David|date=1999-06-22|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-02-16|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Ratification had been delayed because of Russia's opposition to [[Operation Infinite Reach]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url= http://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/treaty-between-united-states-america-and-union-soviet-socialist-republics-strategic-offensive-reductions-start-ii |title= Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Strategic Offensive Reductions (START II) {{!}} Treaties & Regimes |website= www.nti.org |access-date= 2018-02-16}}</ref> the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|NATO bombing of Serbia]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/10527.htm|title=U.S.-Russia Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (see Moscow Treaty) |work= U.S. Department of State |access-date=2018-02-16 |language= en-US}}</ref> eastward expansion of [[NATO]], and America's plans to build a limited [[missile defense]] system (which would have required changes to or the US withdrawal from the 1972 [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]]).<ref name=":1" />

Very little progress was made towards completing negotiations on START III. Attempts at negotiating START III were eventually abandoned, and the US and Russia instead agreed to the [[Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty]] (SORT) or Moscow Treaty.<ref name=":2" />

==In popular culture==
START III plays a large role in the 1998 video game, ''[[Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game)|Metal Gear Solid]]'' in which a nuclear terrorist attack is scheduled on the date of the signing of START III, which is supposed to take place at the end of February 2005.

==See also==
* [[New START]]
* [[SALT I|SALT I and II]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.armscontrol.ru/start/publications/em0509.htm Opportunities and Consequences for Nuclear Disarmament]

{{Nuclear weapons limitation treaty}}
{{Russia–United States relations}}

[[Category:Arms control treaties]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons governance]]
[[Category:Proposed treaties]]
[[Category:Russia–United States relations]]
[[Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton]]
[[Category:Boris Yeltsin]]
[[Category:Nuclear technology treaties]]