Question

Choose the correct full form of the 'SALT' treaty from the options given below:

• A. Special Arms Limited Treaty
• B. Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
• C. Secret Arms Limitation Treaty
• D. South Asia Local Treaty

Hint:

To remember arms control treaties, break them down by keyword functions: Strategic (relating to long-range weapons), Arms (military weaponry), Limitation (putting caps/ceilings on production), and Treaty/Talks.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Historical Origin of the SALT Treaties:
During the Cold War, particularly during the era of détente (easing of tensions) in the late 1960s and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in bilateral negotiations to curb the escalating nuclear arms race.

Step 2: Defining the Nomenclature:
The acronym SALT stands for the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (often referred to as Strategic Arms Limitation Talks). It represented a series of bilateral conferences and international treaties designed to place limits on the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and other strategic weaponry.

Step 3: Distinguishing SALT I and SALT II:

• SALT I was signed in May 1972 by US President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev, leading to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
• SALT II was signed in June 1979 in Vienna but was never formally ratified by the US Senate due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Comparing the full forms, Option (B) is mathematically and historically accurate.