U.S., Russian presidents agree to seek action on chemical arms pact

Abstract

At the recent Helsinki Summit, President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed to intensify efforts to get their respective legislatures to expeditiously ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention. The treaty bans the production, possession, and use of chemical weapons. Yeltsin submitted the treaty to the Duma, the Russian parliament, on March 17. In the U.S., the accord has been held up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose chairman, Jesse Helms (R-N.C), has been trying to get the Administration to agree to reorganization of the State Department and to conditions in the resolution of ratification—the document senators actually vote on. After negotiating with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), the ranking minority member on the Foreign Relations Committee, and with Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Helms said last week he will hold hearings the first week after the Senate returns from a two-week recess on April 7. He has set no timetable for ...