A/RES/57/79 and phased programme with agreed time frames, wherever feasible, for the progressive and balanced reduction of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, leading to their ultimate and complete elimination at the earliest possible time, Noting the reiteration by the States parties to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons 4 of their conviction that the Treaty is a cornerstone of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament and the reaffirmation by the States parties of the importance of the decision on strengthening the review process for the Treaty, 5 the decision on principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, 5 the decision on the extension of the Treaty5 and the resolution on the Middle East, 5 adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Reiterating the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament in the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly and by the international community, Welcoming the entry into force of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START I), 6 to which Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States of America are States parties, Reiterating its call for an early entry into force of the Comprehensive NuclearTest-Ban Treaty, 7 Noting with appreciation the signing of the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (“the Moscow Treaty”) by the United States of America and the Russian Federation 8 as a significant step towards reducing their deployed strategic nuclear weapons, while calling for further irreversible deep cuts in their nuclear arsenals, Noting with appreciation also the unilateral measures taken by the nuclearweapon States for nuclear arms limitation, and encouraging them to take further such measures, Recognizing the complementarity of bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, and that bilateral negotiations can never replace multilateral negotiations in this respect, Noting the support expressed in the Conference on Disarmament and in the General Assembly for the elaboration of an international convention to assure nonnuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, and the multilateral efforts in the Conference on Disarmament to reach agreement on such an international convention at an early date, Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996, 9 and welcoming the unanimous reaffirmation by all Judges of the Court that there exists _______________ 4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729, No. 10485. See 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, Part I (NPT/CONF.1995/32 (Part I) and Corr.2), annex. 6 The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, vol. 16: 1991 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.92.IX.1), appendix II. 7 See resolution 50/245. 8 See CD/1674. 9 A/51/218, annex; see also Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226. 5 2