Russian Stance on ABM Treaty -- Disarmament `Expert' on Results of Limitation Talks
By ITAR-TASS correspodent Anatoliy Yurkin
Moscow ITAR-TASS
in English, 1046 GMT 11 Apr 95
[FBIS Transcribed Text] Moscow April 11 TASS -- The
results of Russian-American talks on the limitation of
anti-ballistic-missile [ABM] systems for theatre of
operations should meet the national interests of Russia,
Pavel Podvig, an expert from the Centre for the Study of
Problems of Disarmament, Energy and Ecology, told ITAR-TASS
in an exclusive interview today. According to Podvig,
reports, that appeared in the Western press, saying that
senior officials of the Clinton administration are going to
consider a possibility of giving up the concessions, made
by the United States at the talks with Russia on specifying
provisions of the ABM treaty, are evoking some concern.
As one of possible steps, it was suggested to remove
from discussion the proposal, put forward at the talks, on
the setting of speed limits for interceptor missiles. The
Russian expert believes it was not accidental that Russia
put forward this proposal. It helps to draw a dividing line
between regional systems, which are permitted by the ABM
treaty, and the strategic ones, banned by it.
In his opinion, the preservation of the ABM treaty is
more important for Russia, than the development of the ABM
system for theatre of operations, on which the U.S. side
insists. Podvig believes the Russian stand is not only the
result of the limited possibilities of our country in
developing its own ABM systems for theatre of operationss.
If Russia accepts the U.S. conceptual framework, this will
actually mean that it agrees to the creation in the U.S. of
the weapon systems that can be used for waging so-called
"star wars," which are again becoming popular across the
ocean.
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