Quit from START II Gives Russia More Flexibility, Defense Minister

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 20, 2002

Quit from START II Gives Russia More Flexibility, Defense Minister

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday that the cancellation of the START II treaty" gives Russia much more flexibility" in building and shaping its strategic nuclear forces.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday that the cancellation of the START II treaty" gives Russia much more flexibility" in building and shaping its strategic nuclear forces.

"However, we are not going to take any rush step toward this end," the minister told journalists after meeting with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday.

Ivanov noted the increasingly warming Russian-U.S. relations, adding that both sides realize well that the Cold War era had passed. Therefore, there is no need for the existence of large-size strategic nuclear forces, he said.

However, the top defense official said the cancellation of START II could give Russia more freedom in developing the forces at a level that will "allow us to use nuclear weapons as a reliable political means to avert aggression against our country."

In addition, this will allow Russia "to build its armed forces by the 'more beneficial and less costly' principle", he added.

Russia formally announced to withdraw from the START II with the U.S. last Friday, calling the accord as senseless following the U.S. quit from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

START II, signed in 1993, would have slashed both countries' arsenals to 3,000 --3,500 warheads, but the treaty was never implemented.

The U.S. Congress ratified the treaty in 1996 and the Russian parliament followed suit in 2000, but Russian parliamentarians linked START II to preservation of the 1972 ABM Treaty. The treatyformally expired on Thursday, six months after the U.S. President George W. Bush announced to abandon it to pave the way for a national defense system.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Bill Clinton Has Unexpectedly Become a 'Sweet Cake' ( 15 Messages)

Englishman Hired as Chief Advisor of Yunnan Provincial Government ( 16 Messages)

Two S.Korean Girls Run Over by US Armored Vehicle ( 55 Messages)

Uncle Sam's Policy to Cross-Straits Ties against Its Own Interests ( 5 Messages)

Home-made Auto Sales Head for 3 Million in 2002 ( 8 Messages)