Russia won’t discuss nuclear reductions without missile defense deal – newspaper

Missile Defense Control Room file photo

MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) – Moscow calls unrealistic the U.S. idea of unilateral nuclear reductions and refuses to negotiate the issue without a missile defense deal, Kommersant wrote on Friday.

The U.S. initiative “does not fit present-day realities”, a source at the Russian General Staff told the newspaper. He described the unilateral disarmament idea as “a political move.”

“They use the occasion to prompt alleviation of our missile defense position,” he told Kommersant.

“We see missile defense as a keynote issue. Russia will not continue reductions without reaching a relevant agreement,” a source at the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed to the newspaper.

In his words, Moscow and Washington are seeking ways to guarantee without seeking approval by the U.S. Congress that the U.S.-NATO missile defense network will not target Russian nuclear deterrence forces (in contrast to the legally binding guarantees demanded by Russia). Yet no compromise has been reached as yet, the source said.

Moscow insists on implementation of the new START Treaty before negotiating further reductions, he said.

“Speaking of the package agreement, we would like to include non-nuclear strategic armaments in it, but Washington is not ready. Besides, the U.S. has a surplus of conventional weapons. So, this is not the question of the near future,” the source said.

Russia and the United States discussed possibilities of further nuclear reductions and a cooperation agreement, which might replace the Nunn-Lugar program, during the Moscow visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller that ended on Thursday.

The best results were achieved in the discussion of the agreement to supplant the Nunn-Lugar program which started in the early 1990s to provide U.S. sponsorship to the disposal of Russian redundant nuclear and chemical munitions, the newspaper said.

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