Russian President, Indian Premier Discuss Us Withdrawal From Abm Treaty

President Vladimir Putin of Russia held a telephone conference with India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday discussing the USA's decision to quit the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The Russian president offered his assessment of strategic stability and global security developments that may be triggered by this move of the US, according to the Kremlin press office. Mr. Vajpayee, in his turn, expressed understanding of and support for Russia's stance and recalled this year's Moscow meeting between the Russian president and him at which they described the treaty as a cornerstone of strategic stability. And this stance has not changed since then.