. 24/7 Space News .
Russia Says It Will Match US On Arms Cuts, Demands Binding Accord

File Photo: The former Soviet Union's most powerful H-bomb equal to 50 Megatons of TNT, weighing 27 tons is put on display 22 October 1992 at the Chelyabnsk Museum of Atomic Weapons in Moscow. This is the first public display of the super-bomb which was tested over the northern Island of Novaya Zemlya in 1961.
Moscow (AFP) Jan 30, 2002
Russia said Wednesday that it would agree to slash its nuclear arsenal to match proposed US cuts as long as the reductions took the form of a binding legal treaty.

The agreement must take the form of "a binding legal document that forsees radical, real, and verifiable reductions of strategic offensive weapons, up to the ceiling of 1,700 to 2,200 nuclear warheads 10 years from now," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

US President George W. Bush has proposed to cut the US nuclear arsenal from around 6,000 warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200, while Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously said he was prepared to slash the Russian nuclear arsenal to 1,500 warheads.

The disarmament issue has shaken their warming strategic relationship, with Putin calling "a mistake" Bush's unilateral decision to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty to pursue the development of US missile defense.

The US on Wednesday declined to comment on Moscow's demand for cuts within the context of a binding legal treaty saying only that it had held "productive" and "substantive" arms control talks this week with Russia.

"We found it productive, we found it a substantive discussion, but at this point I don't think I can go into more specifics on that," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"The form of the agreement would be subject to discussion. We know the Russian position, they've stated it publicly before and our position is that we'll talk about it. That's what we're doing," he added.

On Tuesday, Russia criticized the United States for destabilizing the international arms control regime.

The fact that Russia has requested a binding legal treaty may further sour disarmament talks, as the United States has said it wants a more informal agreement.

The Russian foreign ministry announcement came one day after Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton held disarmament talks in Washington with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov.

A second round of negogiations is due to be held in Moscow on February 19.

The ministry said it would like to sign the agreement when Bush visits Moscow later this year.

US President George W. Bush announced on December 13 that Washington will withdraw from the ABM accord to pursue a missile defence project free from the constraints imposed by the treaty.

Since then Moscow has avoided a confrontation with Washington in favour of talks aimed at redefining their strategic relations.

All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

US, Russia Continue Arms Control Talks In Washington
 Washington (AFP) Jan 29, 2002
Senior US and Russian officials met here Tuesday to continue arms control talks, a senior State Department official said, as Moscow launched a wide-ranging attack on Washington's disarmament policies.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.