A High-ranking Spokesman For State Department Speaks About Variants Of Agreements Concerning The Start Treaty Acceptable For USA And Russia

A high-ranking spokesman for the US Department of State believes that the USA and Russia do not intend to attack each other, and that they will find an acceptable variant of the agreements on strategic defensive armaments, reports the RIA Novosti correspondent. As a member of the American delegation said on condition of anonymity, on Tuesday US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the American reporters on board his plane, the suitable wording for the START Treaty would be found. According to the diplomat, the time has come for a new approach to the control of armaments, that is, to give up the concept of containment based on parity. At the present time we do not need a treaty on cutting armaments which is based on our possibility to destroy each other, he said. Our basic conviction is that neither Russia nor the United States intend to attack each other, and each of the sides believes that it needs a certain amount of nuclear arms with the aim of containment and be able to ensure its own security in the world," explained the spokesman for the Department of State. We shall determine what these levels are and inform the other side about it, he said. The USA, he added, will make process open for Russia, having given it access to the information which it may need. We believe, pointed out the spokesman for the US Department of State, that such an approach will be acceptable for both sides, because we are not in the state of conflict or confrontation.