The United States may unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty before reaching a deal with Russia on a new strategic framework, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced.
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The US may withdraw from the 1972 ABM-Treaty before reaching a deal with Russia
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It was not immediately clear whether the comment, made in an interview with a US television station, was meant as a signal that Washington was considering decoupling the issues of missile defense and strategic arms reductions that the US and Russian presidents agreed to link at their meeting last month.
"I just got in from Moscow, having been visiting with them about that," Mr Rumsfeld told KSDK-TV of St. Louis Missouri. "And it's not clear what the way ahead will be," he continued, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon late yesterday.
"But I suspect that we'll either have to withdraw from the treaty and then continue working with them on establishing a new relationship." He did not say what the other option would be.
The interview followed Mr Rumsfeld's talks in Moscow on ways to prevent a rift over a US plan to develop a national missile defense system against missile attacks by countries like North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
During their meeting in Genoa, Italy, US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to link Washington's plans to build a missile defense system to a discussion on cutting the US and Russian nuclear arsenals.
AFP