Us Warned Of Its Withdrawal From Abm Treaty Six Months Ago

The US decision to pull out from the 1972 ABM Treaty "was not taken overnight, we warned about it six months before," US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at a news conference in Baku. He emphasised that President George W. Bush had announced reduction of American nuclear warheads down to 1,700-2000. The Pentagon head expressed hope that Russia would also reduce the number of its warheads "down to a noticeable level". "People are worried that the number of strategic nuclear arms may grow in the world," he said. This process, Rumsfeld said, began after the ABM Treaty was concluded in 1972. "By withdrawing from the ABM Treaty, we create a backlog in the process of diminishing strategic nuclear weapons in the world," he said. Moreover, according to him, "we leave contradictions with Russia in the past and are looking ahead".