Moscow - The Russian Defence Minister, Mr Igor Sergeyev, said after talks with his US counterpart yesterday that withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty would lead to a new arms race.
Mr Sergeyev and the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, met the US Defence Secretary, Mr William Cohen, amid continued deadlock over proposed missile defence shield systems. Mr Sergeyev said the differences included disagreement between Moscow and Washington about the nature and timing of a threat from so-called "rogue states", against which the United States wants to build a national missile defence shield. Such a system, Russia holds, would violate the ABM treaty.
"Pulling out of the 1972 ABM commitment would amount to restarting the arms race," Mr Sergeyev told reporters. He said that Russia favoured political dialogue between Moscow, Washington and other nations to fend off potential threats.