U.S. denies deadline on ABM pact

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, AUG. 23. The Bush administration has denied it has given Russia any unofficial deadline for changes in the 1972 Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The clarification was issued by the White House and the State Department amidst reports that the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Mr. John Bolton, had made remarks to that effect in Moscow very recently.

In a radio interview in Moscow, Mr. Bolton remarked, ``I think the two Presidents would be disappointed in us if we didn't have something for them to consider when they get together in Texas''. He was referring to the planned summit in November between Mr. George W. Bush and Mr. Vladimir Putin at the Crawford Ranch in Texas.

While leading papers took the view that Mr. Bolton had given the Russians a deadline and in the impression that the Bush administration will be unilaterally walking away from the 1972 arrangement if an understanding on the changes is not made by November, the administration was quick to argue that the official transcript of Mr. Bolton's radio interview did not have any deadlines.

In referring to the meeting of the Presidents in Texas, Mr. Bolton went on to say, ``But we consider it an artificial deadline and we are going to try and make as much progress as we can and we'll see what happens''. The White House and the State Department are pointing to this part of the transcript to make the point that no ``artificial deadlines'' have been set.

The White House Press Secretary, Mr. Ari Fleischer, has argued that the President is committed to making progress with Mr. Putin on a new thinking that gets beyond the Cold War mentality which is reflected in the 1972 arrangement. At the same time, the administration is making the point that the Missile Defence System will be going ahead as planned.

``It is unclear exactly when the tests will lead to a bumping into the ABM Treaty... There will be continued efforts to develop a missile defence system and to continue with research to protect the United States'', Mr. Fleischer said. The perception here and elsewhere is that at some point of time, the United States and Russia will have to come to grips with different sets of possibilities on the ABM Treaty.

Even if Washington does not unilaterally walk away from the treaty, the thinking is that it could give a six-month notice of withdrawal as required under the treaty. Mr. Bolton himself addressed this aspect when talking about the scenario of Moscow and Washington not in agreement with the Missile Defence Plan.

``At some point in the not-too-distant future, we would exercise our express right under the treaty to give notice of withdrawal'', Mr. Bolton said.

The Bush administration, led by the President, has consistently made the point that there will be no going back on the proposed missile defence plan to protect the United States and its allies and friends from attack by the so-called rogue nations.

In fact, the President is expected to further reinforce his thinking when on Friday he makes the choice for the next Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The current front-runner is Gen. Richard Myers of the Air Force who at one time led the Space Command.

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Section  : International
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