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Russia, China Again Denounce U.S. Missile Shield Plan
Russian and Chinese disarmament negotiators on Thursday denounced the proposed U.S. missile shield system and the Russian hinted that a new nuclear arms reduction treaty could not go ahead unless it was dropped.
Addressing the final session of the main United Nations arms control forum this year, Russian ambassador Vasily Sidorov and China's envoy Hu Xiaodi suggested that U.S. fears of attack by a rogue state with ballistic missiles were unfounded.
Both called for preserving the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, which the U.S. national missile defense (NMD) system would amend, and for launching global negotiations aimed at preventing an arms race in outer space, which America opposes.
"No small country would ever attack or threaten to attack the militarily most powerful country in the world unless it decides to commit suicide," Hu declared. "It is only a clumsy excuse".
"We are convinced that the issue of missile proliferation can and must be dealt with without disrupting the ABM Treaty," added Siderov.
The Russian delegate also linked maintaining the landmark ABM intact to progress on a future START-III aimed at cutting the two powers' strategic offensive nuclear weapons stockpiles.
"We support the immediate beginning of START-III negotiations...In so doing, we proceed from the fact that conclusion of START-III Treaty is not possible unless the ABM Treaty preserves its integrity."
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