Russian Senator Thinks Us Quitting Abm Treaty Is Error

The US' quitting the ABM Treaty is an erroneous move, said Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Security and Defence, in an interview with RIA Novosti. Ozerov said at the same time that he hoped the US's abandoning the ABM Treaty would not affect implementation of the previously signed START-2 agreements and the upcoming talks on further offensive arms cuts. The Federation Council Defence Committee Chairman believes that the American administration's decision will not entail an arms race, nor will it create threats to the Russian national security. "Military experts' estimations imply that even 50% of Russia's current military potential is enough to maintain national security," Ozerov said. He mentioned that the US argues that national missile defences are not designed against Russia. "Possibly, Bush decided to deploy an NMD in order to calm the US public opinion after the September 11th terrorist assault," Ozerov thinks.