International

Russian `terms' for arms pact

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW JUNE 15. Russia has launched a new diplomatic offensive to commit the United States to further arms control agreements improving upon a nuclear weapons pact the two countries sealed last month.

Three weeks after Moscow and Washington concluded a treaty to slash their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds, the Russian Parliament warned that it may only ratify the accord if it is augmented with more detailed procedures for the proposed reductions. In a non-binding resolution unanimously approved on Friday, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, said it "reserves the right to add provisions to the federal ratification bill to ensure the predictability of credible reductions of the U. S. strategic nuclear forces.''

Under the treaty the Presidents of Russia and the U. S. signed on May 24 in Moscow, the two countries are to reduce their nuclear armoury from about 6,000 warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads over the next 10 years. The treaty has been widely criticised in Russia for leaving numerous loopholes that will allow the U. S. to juggle with numbers of warheads subject for decommissioning, to store, rather than destroy them and avoid on-the-ground verification.

Russian diplomats said the treaty was a "reasonable compromise'' and promised to push for further arms control measures. Friday's parliamentary resolution gives the start to a Russian campaign to rectify the deficiencies of the Moscow treaty. The State Duma called on Russia and the U. S. to work out "a realistic time-table'' for the agreed arms reductions and "additional agreements'' to ensure their "transparency and predictability.''

The new accords will be "instrumental'' for facilitating ratification by Parliament of the Russia-American nuclear arms treaty, the State Duma warned.

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