Moscow Welcomes U.S. Bid to Cut Strategic Offensive Weapons

Russia welcomes the new U.S. administration's intention to reduce strategic offensive nuclear arsenals, but insists that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty remain intact, a ranking Russian military official said Saturday.

The remarks came after the U.S. media reported Friday that President George W. Bush intends to issue a number of directives on military policy, one of which would provide for a significant reduction in strategic nuclear forces.

"Certain information indicates that the U.S. military leadership believes that the number of nuclear warheads should be no fewer than 2,000, instead of the current 7,000," the official was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on condition of anonymity.

"We are prepared to immediately begin negotiations with Washington on further reduction of strategic offensive weapons and seek constructive ways to maintain strategic stability," he said.

The reduction in nuclear arsenals must not be directed to amending the 1972 ABM Treaty, he stressed. "Russia's position on this issue remains unchanged. As soon as Washington takes the first step to deploy a national ABM system, Moscow will take actions in response."

According to the Russian-U.S. Strategic Arms Reduction Talk II (START-II), the two sides should cut their strategic offensive weapons to 3,500 nuclear warheads. The former Clinton administration planned to reach a START-III with Russia to cut down their nuclear arsenals to 2,000-2,500 warheads.

But Russia has recently proposed that the U.S. make more radical reductions -- cutting the number of warheads down to 1,500 or even fewer for each side

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