President Clinton should seek a summit agreement with President Putin to pursue a bold new nuclear security agenda.
Development strategies for the 21st century cannot continue to overlook the middle class. But a focus on the middle class does not imply a neglect of the poor.

Seven years after Presidents George Bush and Boris Yelstin signed it, the Russian Duma is on the verge of ratifying the START II arms reduction treaty. The agreement, ratified by the United States Senate on January 26, 1996, would cut the number of U.S. and Russian deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 3,000-3,500.

Improving security measures alone will not solve the problems in the Caspian region and the role of the US in this process is a limited one. The countries of the region must add to the number of stakeholders in their countries to begin this reform.