Anti-missile Defence To Figure Prominently At Moscow Talks

The themes of anti-missile defence will hold a central place at the forthcoming talks of the heads of the defence agencies of Russia and the USA in Moscow, head of the US Department of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated at a briefing in Washington on Thursday. Commenting at journalists' request on the report by The Washington Post that Russia and the USA have allegedly already reached agreement on the ABM problem, he said that if it had really been so he would not have been going to Moscow now. The head of the Pentagon voiced the view that an accord on anti-missile defence and on the destiny of the ABM Treaty of 1972 would not be attained until the presidents of the two countries meet and come to terms on a number of remaining problems. According to Rumsfeld, he plans to soon visit, alongside with Russia, also "four countries in the Central-Asian region". He did not name these states and noted that so far it is not known if he would visit them.