Donald Rumsfeld Declines To Say Whether Us Will Abrogate Abm Treaty

Talking to RIA Novosti here today, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declined to say whether the United States will abrogate the ABM (Anti-ballistic Missile) Treaty. This issue has been repeatedly discussed by our countries' Presidents, Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers, Rumsfeld went on to say. It constitutes the prerogative of our Presidents, who alone have the right to decide on whether this should be done, or not, Rumsfeld stressed. Rumsfeld also quoted President George W. Bush of the United States as saying that the ABM Treaty should be bypassed and a new security system created. We'll decide on how to do this, Rumsfeld added.