US Welcomes Russia's Commitment to START 2 Treaty

The United States on Tuesday welcomed Russia's deployment of new Topol-M missiles, saying Moscow's reshaping of nuclear missile arsenal was a sign to meet its commitment under the START 2 treaty.

"So we support very much their efforts to prepare for a post-START 2 environment and that's exactly what you're reading about in these reports," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said at a briefing.

He said Russia's deployment of new Topol-M missiles was part of the process of eliminating multiple-warhead missiles in line with its commitment under the 1993 treaty as these new missiles have only one warhead.

Reports said the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, Vladimir Yakovlev, attended a ceremony on Tuesday to put a third grouping of Topol-Ms into service, which can be mounted in silos, on trucks or on trains.

Russia has said the 47-ton Topol, which has a range of 10,000 km, was a sophisticated weapon capable of breaking through any defense system.

Many in the Russian military see the missiles as a possible response to U.S. plans for a national missile shield.

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