It was first proposed by the United States in 1967 and rejected. Following the proposal of the Sentinel and Safeguard Decisions on American ABM systems, the [SALT I]? talks began in November 1969. By 1972 agreement had been reached to limiting strategic offensive weapons and strategic defensive systems. It was signed in Moscow May 26, 1972, and ratified by the Senate August 3, 1972.
The treaty agreed states that each nation may have only two ABM deployment areas, restricted and located at least 1,300km apart so that they cannot provide a nationwide ABM defense or become the basis for developing one. Therefore each country leaves unchallenged the capability of the others retaliatory missile forces. The ABM systems that may be deployed are limited to 200 interceptors and launchers, 100 at each site (reduced to 100 in total, by agreement, in 1974) and both nations agreed to limit qualitative improvement of their ABM technology. A Standing Consultative Commission (SCC) was created to handle treaty-related compliance and implementation issues.
The Treaty has been modified since its signing, but in 1995 it was reiterated in a Presidential Joint Statement that "missile defense systems may be deployed... [that] will not pose a realistic threat to the strategic nuclear force of the other side and will not be tested to... [create] that capability.", this was reaffirmed in 1997.
On December 13, 2001, President George W. Bush gave Russia notice of the United States' withdrawal from the treaty, in accordance with the clause that requires six months' notice before abandoning the pact. This is the first time in recent history the United States has abandoned a major international arms treaty.
The withdrawal had many critics. John Rhinelander, a negotiator of the ABM treaty, predicted that the withdrawal would be a "fatal blow" to the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]? and would lead to a "world without effective legal constraints on nuclear proliferation."
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