Russian General Goes To Washington To Discuss Strategic Stability

A group of Russian military experts headed by Colonel General Yury Baluyevsky, First Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff, is due to go to Washington on Monday to hold a session of regular Russian-American consultations on strategic stability. According to Baluyevsky, the Russian-American consultations to be held on January 15th-17th will focus on development of a new bilateral agreement on further cuts of strategic offensive arms. He said that the agreement must be drafted after a series of bilateral consultations at various levels by summer, when a Russian-American summit is due to be held in Moscow. He pointed out that this small, but legally binding document must focus on the strategic arms thresholds and transparent mechanisms for the control over arms cuts. "Any quantity within the limit of 1,500-2,200 warheads, as the Russian and US Presidents decided, will suit us," Baluyevsky said. He said that missile defences would also be discussed during the negotiations in Washington with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Undersecretary Douglas Feith. "So far, the US has only announced its decision to abrogate the 1972 ABM Treaty. We still regard this decision erroneous. Russia's reaction will follow in 6 months, when the US quits the Treaty de facto,' the general said. He noted at the same time, that no "Moscow's asymmetric responses are at issue."