In what his campaign promoted as a major speech on nuclear security policy, Mr. McCain told a largely friendly crowd at the University of Denver that he supported a legally binding accord between the two nations to replace verification requirements in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start, which expires in 2009. The Bush administration has refused to accept such binding limits on nuclear weapons, which the administration’s critics say has created paranoia in Moscow.

“Russia and the United States are no longer mortal enemies,” Mr. McCain said in a speech that was interrupted at least four times by hecklers opposed to the Iraq war. “As our two countries possess the overwhelming majority of the world’s nuclear weapons, we have a special responsibility to reduce their number. I believe we should reduce our nuclear forces to the lowest level we judge necessary, and we should be prepared to enter into a new arms control agreement with Russia reflecting the nuclear reductions I will seek.”

In addition, Mr. McCain said, “we should be able to agree with Russia on binding verification measures based on those currently in effect under the Start Agreement, to enhance confidence and transparency.”

Like his Democratic competitors, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. McCain also called for a world free of nuclear weapons, and he cited as his model the standard bearer of the Republican party, former President Ronald Reagan.

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Source; NyTimes.com

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