Ivanov: Russia Determined to Defend ABM Treaty

Russia will firmly defend its position on preserving the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and continue a constructive dialogue with the United States on strategic stability, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday, ending his two-day visit in Washington.

Russia still has quite a few questions regarding the US-said "new architecture" of strategic stability, including the so-called national missile defense shield, Interfax news agency cited Ivanov as saying at a final press conference in Washington.

The U.S. arguments that the whole structure of disarmament agreements should be dismantled and non-proliferation regimes are threatened because of potential threats "are not persuading either us or most of the countries in the world," he said.

"The 1972 ABM treaty still remains an effective instrument ensuring confidence and predictability in the strategic sphere," he stressed.

The treaty does not hamper but actually makes it easier to find responses to contemporary threats and challenges to international stability, Ivanov said.

During the talks in Washington, the two sides "agreed to continue the dialogue on all aspects of the problem of strategic stability both at the political and expert levels," Ivanov said.

The foreign minister said that "the U.S. and we share an understanding of one key principle: it is only on the basis of equal and mutually beneficial interaction between our countries that new global challenges can be effectively opposed."

"It is natural that we do not agree with each other on all points," Ivanov said.

"The narrowing of our differences in certain spheres is a lengthy and complex process," he noted. What is crucial, he said, is that the present and future problems be solved not in a confrontational way but through mutually acceptable solutions and compromises.

Necessity of Dialogue on Missile Defense

Russia and the United States should maintain a constructive dialogue on strategic issues, in particular, on anti-missile defense, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday.

Moscow and Washington have "obviously different views" on most problems, but both sides agreed that "dialogue be maintained between Russia and the U.S. and we act not as rivals but as partners in discussing these problems," Ivanov told the Russian TV channel on the results of his visit in Washington.

The U.S. says that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty is outmoded and should be replaced, although "it does not offer any specific formulas that could replace the 1972 treaty," the foreign minister said.

"In our view, the 1972 ABM treaty and everything the two sides have worked out to develop it provide a very broad set of instruments for preserving and improving strategic stability," he said.

"It is important that we have begun a constructive dialogue, a constructive discussion on all these issues with experts, representatives from defense and other structures involved," the foreign minister said. "There are grounds to hope that there will not be unilateral moves but moves taking into account each other's interests," he said.

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