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Russia Is Waiting for Answers about U.S. Missile Defense
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists that Russia is waiting for proposals on transparency and credibility promised by the United States in regard to its missile defense plans in Eastern Europe. He added that Russia is also waiting for American proposals on strategic arms control, which will be essential once the SALT-2 treaty expires in December 2009.
Lavrov stated that the Americans “want to limit only nuclear warheads ready for operation, leaving all those in warehouses unaccounted for and leaving the type of carrier and the means of delivery beyond the framework of the restrictions.” Russia, Lavrov continued, is convinced that the total volume and quantity of nuclear warheads should be subject to control and reduction. “I reminded the U.S. secretary of state that we have been waiting a long time for the answers and proposals they promised,” Lavrov said.
In addition, Lavrov sees no need to renew negotiations with the Americans over U.S. missile defense in the “2 + 2” format (the Russian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the American Secretaries of Defense and State). “There will be no meeting in the 2 + 2 format,” Lavrov said, adding that the possibility was not even discussed at the bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “The question didn’t come up becuase everything that can be discussed has been discussed at the two meetings in autumn 2007 and spring 2008,” Lavrov said. The agreements that were reached “remain in the process of implementation,” he said.
www.kommersant.com
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