Defense Minister Reaffirms Russia's Readiness To Go For Radical Reduction Of Strategic Offensive Weapons Rostov-on-don, December 11. /from Ria Novosti's

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has reaffirmed that Russia is prepared to go for radical reduction of strategic offensive armaments to a level of 1,500 warheads. At a press conference in Rostov-on-Don, Sergei Ivanov recalled that the position of Russia regarding this kind of weapons was declared long ago. As a result of principled agreement reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States, "approximate parameters" have already been envisaged and it only remains to agree on specific parameters, including the control and rating mechanisms, the head of the Russian defense establishment emphasized. Sergei Ivanov hopes that this work will be actively on in the near future. "I plan to meet with American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Brussels and thoroughly talk the matter over", said the Russian defense minister.