U.S. Pullout of ABM Pact Poses No Military Threat to Russia: Politician

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 14, 2001

U.S. Pullout of ABM Pact Poses No Military Threat to Russia: Politician

The U.S. intention to unilaterally secede from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty does not pose a military threat to Russia, a leading Russian parliamentary activist said here Thursday.

The U.S. intention to unilaterally secede from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty does not pose a military threat to Russia, a leading Russian parliamentary activist said here Thursday.

"The scale and capacities of our strategic forces are such that within the next few decades neither Americans nor anybody else will be able to design a shield for counteracting our abilities from the point of view of strategic security and defense, " Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the Yabloko bloc faction in the State Duma, told the Ekho Moskvy Radio.

However, he did not have "pleasant feelings about such actions on the part of the Americans." The decision cannot be described " as the step of a partner, especially as we have become closer in the anti-terrorist coalition," Yavlinsky said.

In this situation, Russia should seek new forms of strategic stability and cooperation with the United States, the lawmaker remarked.

He called for signing a new agreement with the United States, Great Britain, France and "possibly, China."

It is also necessary to design a Russia-Europe anti-missile tactical system with the use of Russia's territory, tactical and military capacities, including S-300 and S-400 missile technologies, Yavlinsky said.

"This umbrella" will bring colossal investments to the Russian defense industry, he said.

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