International Security
Russia’s plan to have rail-based ICBMs does not
contradict START-3 — Defense Ministry
December 24, 15:07 UTC+3
“The key provision of that treaty is to comply with the qualitative restrictions," Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said
“The key provision of that treaty is to comply with the qualitative restrictions," Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said
Barack Obama holds the
signed New START treaty with Dmitry Medvedev in Prague, April 8, 2010
© AP
Photo/Alex Brandon
MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Russia’s
plans for creating a new generation of railroad-based ballistic missiles by no
means run counter to the provisions of the strategic arms reduction treaty
START-3 and will certainly not require its revision, Deputy Defense Minister
Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday.
© ITAR-TASS/Artiom
Korotaev
“The existence of our plans for creating
rail-based ICBMs by no means contradicts Russia’s liabilities under the START
treaty. The emergence of rail-based ICBMs will not require its revision,”
Antonov said.
He recalled that START did not contain a
ban on mobile missiles as such and either party was free to determine the
composition and structure of its strategic forces on its own. “The key
provision of that treaty is to comply with the qualitative restrictions: the
number of delivery vehicles and operational warheads,” Antonov explained.
He recalled the existence of the
bilateral consultative commission, empowered to consider all START-3 related
issues.
Earlier, US Under Secretary for Arms
Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller said that the
re-emergence of Russia’s railway-based missiles might have a negative effect on
strategic stability and the complexes must be liable to the operation of
START-3.
Russia withdrew railway-based
inter-continental ballistic missiles from operation in 2005. At the moment
research and development work is in progress on their successor, Barguzin,
which, according to Strategic Missile Force expectations, will surpass by far
the parameters of its predecessor and remain in active service at least till 2040.
A
former Strategic Missile Force commander, Viktor Yesin, has told TASS that
Barguzin is Russia’s response to the United States’ deployment of the
anti-ballistic missile defense. The mobile missiles’ high mobility and
stealthiness make a missile defense easily pregnable, he said.
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