.Russia: Arms control and missile shield linked
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's foreign minister warned Wednesday that Moscow will demand that U.S. plans for a missile defense system be on the table during nuclear arms control talks.
Sergey Lavrov's remarks signal that the Kremlin is taking a tough posture in negotiations on cutting nuclear arsenals. The statement came as U.S. and Russian negotiators wrapped up their first round of talks on forging a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Lavrov said at a news conference that any deal must mark a "step forward" from the existing agreements and provide "equal security to both parties and preserve parity in the sphere of strategic stability."
"It's impossible to achieve that without taking into account the situation in the missile defense sphere and many other factors, including (plans for) deployment of strike systems in space, plans for development of non-nuclear warheads and the situation with conventional weapons taking into consideration numerous innovative approaches," he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday in Washington that a decision was yet to be made on the future of the missile defense system. Gates said the U.S. may want to see whether Russia can be brought into the program, which he said would make it more effective.
Russian officials have warned in the past that the planned U.S. missile shield with potential space-based components could erode Russia's nuclear deterrent and give Washington a first-strike capability.
Moscow also has voiced concern about the U.S. plans to swap nuclear warheads for conventional explosives on some long-range ballistic missiles. It says the plan is destabilizing because it would be impossible to tell whether a missile launched by the U.S. was carrying a nuclear warhead.
These and other differences make many experts doubt that Moscow and Washington can reach a new agreement before the START treaty expires on Dec. 5, even though both nations have said they want to further reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
President Barack Obama's push for better ties with Moscow, which deteriorated under his predecessor, paved the way for the rapid launch of talks on a successor deal to START. The next round of arms control talks is scheduled to take place in Geneva on June 1-3, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Obama has put the missile defense plan on hold, but Russia wants the U.S. to scrap it. Russian officials reject the U.S. claim that the plan to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and put a radar station in the Czech Republic is meant to defend against a potential threat from Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted the plan isn't directed against Russia in an interview with Russian state television broadcast Wednesday, saying it would be "stupid" to design a shield against Russia's massive nuclear arsenal. She said the U.S. has offered to work together with Russia on missile defense.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement released late Wednesday said only that the first round of talks took place in a "constructive atmosphere."
But Lavrov's remarks signaled that Russia continues to see the missile defense as an important factor in arms control talks.
START, signed by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President George H.W. Bush, led each country to cut its nuclear warheads by at least one-quarter, to about 6,000.
In 2002, then-President Vladimir Putin and President George W. Bush signed the so-called Treaty of Moscow, which called for further cuts to between 1,700 and 2,200 operationally deployed warheads by 2012.
The page-long document relied on comprehensive verification procedures contained in the 700-page START, including onsite inspections and regular exchange of data.
Failure to negotiate a replacement pact would leave Russia and the U.S. unable to inspect and verify each other's stockpile of nuclear warheads.
Alexander Pikayev, an arms control expert at Russia's Institute for World Economy and International Relations, said the parties may sign a quick interim agreement this year and then continue talks on a broader deal. He warned that a deadlock in arms control talks would have "negative consequences for overall relations."
MyWay
Sergey Lavrov's remarks signal that the Kremlin is taking a tough posture in negotiations on cutting nuclear arsenals. The statement came as U.S. and Russian negotiators wrapped up their first round of talks on forging a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Lavrov said at a news conference that any deal must mark a "step forward" from the existing agreements and provide "equal security to both parties and preserve parity in the sphere of strategic stability."
"It's impossible to achieve that without taking into account the situation in the missile defense sphere and many other factors, including (plans for) deployment of strike systems in space, plans for development of non-nuclear warheads and the situation with conventional weapons taking into consideration numerous innovative approaches," he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday in Washington that a decision was yet to be made on the future of the missile defense system. Gates said the U.S. may want to see whether Russia can be brought into the program, which he said would make it more effective.
Russian officials have warned in the past that the planned U.S. missile shield with potential space-based components could erode Russia's nuclear deterrent and give Washington a first-strike capability.
Moscow also has voiced concern about the U.S. plans to swap nuclear warheads for conventional explosives on some long-range ballistic missiles. It says the plan is destabilizing because it would be impossible to tell whether a missile launched by the U.S. was carrying a nuclear warhead.
These and other differences make many experts doubt that Moscow and Washington can reach a new agreement before the START treaty expires on Dec. 5, even though both nations have said they want to further reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
President Barack Obama's push for better ties with Moscow, which deteriorated under his predecessor, paved the way for the rapid launch of talks on a successor deal to START. The next round of arms control talks is scheduled to take place in Geneva on June 1-3, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Obama has put the missile defense plan on hold, but Russia wants the U.S. to scrap it. Russian officials reject the U.S. claim that the plan to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and put a radar station in the Czech Republic is meant to defend against a potential threat from Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted the plan isn't directed against Russia in an interview with Russian state television broadcast Wednesday, saying it would be "stupid" to design a shield against Russia's massive nuclear arsenal. She said the U.S. has offered to work together with Russia on missile defense.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement released late Wednesday said only that the first round of talks took place in a "constructive atmosphere."
But Lavrov's remarks signaled that Russia continues to see the missile defense as an important factor in arms control talks.
START, signed by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President George H.W. Bush, led each country to cut its nuclear warheads by at least one-quarter, to about 6,000.
In 2002, then-President Vladimir Putin and President George W. Bush signed the so-called Treaty of Moscow, which called for further cuts to between 1,700 and 2,200 operationally deployed warheads by 2012.
The page-long document relied on comprehensive verification procedures contained in the 700-page START, including onsite inspections and regular exchange of data.
Failure to negotiate a replacement pact would leave Russia and the U.S. unable to inspect and verify each other's stockpile of nuclear warheads.
Alexander Pikayev, an arms control expert at Russia's Institute for World Economy and International Relations, said the parties may sign a quick interim agreement this year and then continue talks on a broader deal. He warned that a deadlock in arms control talks would have "negative consequences for overall relations."
MyWay
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