. | . |
Nukes Must Stay Within National Borders Says Russian Army Chief
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Nov 12, 2007 Any new Russia-U.S. agreement on strategic weapons reduction must eliminate the possibility that nuclear weapons could be stationed outside national borders, chief of the Russian General Staff said. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-I) was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union on July 31, 1991, five months before the union collapsed, and remains in force between the U.S., Russia, and three other ex-Soviet states. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have since disposed of all their nuclear weapons or transferred them to Russia. And the U.S. and Russia have reduced the number of delivery vehicles to 1,600, with no more than 6,000 warheads. The treaty is due to expire on December 5, 2009. "Russia deems it necessary to preserve certain provisions of the START treaty [in a new agreement]...especially those that limit the number of nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles, and those that prohibit their deployment outside national borders," Gen. Yury Baluyevsky said in an interview with ATM, a Czech army journal, posted on the Defense Ministry's Web site. The general said the new treaty should replace both the START treaty and the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), and ensure the future comparability and transparency of Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals. He also said the new document should be legally binding and set up as an independent international legal act. "The proposed approach would rule out agreements of a declarative nature and make the process of further limitations on strategic offensive weapons efficient and viable," Baluyevsky said.
Source: RIA Novosti Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Iran's Khatami urges reformists to rally for change Tehran (AFP) Nov 10, 2007 Former president Mohammad Khatami has called on fellow reformists to rally for change in the next parliamentary polls, warning that Iran was faced with "great threats", newspapers reported on Saturday. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights 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 SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |