Transcript of phone conversation between Lois Alder, member of the Treaty Affairs Staff in the Legal Advisor's Office of the U.S. Department of State and Martin Harris of the coaching staff at Southwest Missouri State, on Wednesday, April 2, 2003, at 10:30 am.

Received via email from Martin Harris, 4-2-03. Permission received to post this here from Martin Harris, 4-2-03.

Email Text:

Since you all responded to me, I am forwarding a transcript of a phone conversation I had with Lois Alder from the Treaty Affairs Staff in the Legal Advisor's Office of the U.S. Department of State (202 6472044).

Martin Harris: My name is Martin Harris and I am calling about the Strategic Offensive Reductions treaty.
Lois Alder: Yes, sorry I did not get back to you yesterday.
Martin Harris: That's ok.  The question I have is about ratification.  My understanding is after the Senate gives advice and consent the State Department draws up an Instrument of Ratification for the president to sign.  Has that been done for this treaty yet.
Lois Alder: Yes he signed it.
Martin Harris: Do you know when He signed it.
Lois Alder: I know the exact date, just a moment please. [pause while she presumably looks up the date]  It was signed on the 20th of March.
Martin Harris: Is there a way I should have known that was done without calling you, is it published somewhere the C.F.R. or something?
Lois Alder: No, it is an internal process.
Martin Harris: But it has been signed on the 20th?
Lois Alder: Yes that is correct.
Martin Harris: So for the US part we are done?  We are just waiting for the Duma to ratify so the President and Mr. Putin can exchange instruments of ratification?
Lois Alder: That is correct.
end transcript

I did not transcribe the answer to the last question, which was may I or my students quote you, because her response was rather lengthy, but the gist of the answer was that it is a matter of public record, and it is the kind of question that they would respond to if called about, so yes you may quote me.  The rest of the answer was a lengthy discussion of where I would be able to track down all of the information about the treaty up through the signing (congressional record, transcript of the executive resolution, transcript of text of the treaty and such).