Belarus: U.S. Withdrawal From ABM Treaty to Destroy World Stability

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

Belarus: U.S. Withdrawal From ABM Treaty to Destroy World Stability

The U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty may destroy the balance of international stability and security, Belarussian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov told the press in Minsk on Thursday.

The question of withdrawal from the ABM Treaty "is a question of confidence in nuclear powers that may be undermined," Interfax quoted the minister as saying.

Nuclear powers, the members of the United Nations Security Council, are the guarantors of international security to a large degree, he stressed.

The statement of the United States should not be regarded as the final act, Khvostov said. "Russia and the United States are holding negotiations and NATO will consider the issue as well," he said.

U.S. President George W. Bush announced earlier Thursday that he has informed Russia of his decision to pull out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which bans the deployment of a national missile defense system.

In a news briefing at the White House, Bush said it's time to move beyond the nearly three-decade-old disarmament pact with Russia. Under the pact, the withdrawal will be effective in six months.

Bush said the withdrawal will not harm the relations between Washington and Moscow.

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