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US to Seek Arms Agreement with Russia: Powell
The United States will seek an agreement with Russia on nuclear weapons and proliferation to clear the way for the Bush administration to proceed with missile defense plans, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in the Washington Post published on July 14.
"We need an understanding, an agreement, a treaty, something with the Russians that allows us to move forward with our missile defense programs," Powell said in an interview with the Post at the State Department.
"Sometime in the not too distant future we're going to need relief" for the administration of President George W. Bush to test and build a missile defense system without breaking the 1972 Anti- Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, Powell added.
Powell's remarks came as the Pentagon prepared for its first major missile defense test in over a year Saturday, in which an interceptor missile will attempt to shoot down an incoming test missile over the Pacific.
The US government has recently outlined a plan to develop missile defense system, including construction of a new missile defense test base in Alaska.
Testing and building a missile defense system would violate the ABM treaty, which Moscow views as the cornerstone of strategic arms control.
Arms control experts said that the US missile defense plan, opposed by the international community, will not only spark a new arms race, but also threaten world peace and security, and stimulate nuclear proliferation. The missile program has drawn angry protests from Moscow and criticism from key Democrats in the US Congress.
In the interview with the Post, Powell suggested a written " understanding" or "joint statement" on the issue with Russia, even if it fell short of a formal treaty.
"Wouldn't it be better if we did it together and documented it some way that is not necessarily a treaty?" Powell said. "My view is, let's not foreclose any means of getting to this end."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei B. Ivanov said Friday that Russia was confused on whether the Bush administration was planning to withdraw from, negotiate changes to or simply "bump up against" the ABM treaty in testing the missile defense system.
Powell was due to talk with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on missile defense when they meet in Rome next week. President George W. Bush was also scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Group of Eight summit in Genoa on July 20-22.
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