NMD Would Seriously Damage Global Stability: RussiaDestruction of the Anti- Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty owing to the U.S. plans to deploy a National Missile Defense (NMD) system would seriously affect global stability and international security, Representative of the Russian Federation Andrei Granovsky said here Tuesday."The ABM Treaty still remains a cornerstone of strategic stability and a basis for further reductions of strategic offensive arms as reflected in the appropriate resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly," Granovsky told the 2001 Session of U.N. Disarmament Commission. Granovsky said that Russia considers the total elimination of nuclear weapons as one of the final goals of the disarmament process. He reaffirmed that Russia will honor its commitment on Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while stressing that "only on condition that the ABM Treaty is preserved and respected in its present form would it be possible to proceed with the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons in the framework of the START III process." "I would like to emphasize that Russia attaches great importance to successful activities of the Commission on Disarmament, and Russia will continue its work," he concluded. |
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