Russian FM: Arms control and missile shield linked

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Published: MAY 20, 2009 13:05
Russia's foreign minister says US missile defense plans need to be taken into account in talks on further reductions in nuclear arsenals. Sergey Lavrov says it's impossible to achieve progress in negotiating a new arms control treaty without taking into consideration the planned missile shield. Lavrov spoke Wednesday as Russian and US negotiators continued their talks to work out a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I, which expires in December. The talks started in Moscow Tuesday. President Barack Obama has put his predecessor's plan for a missile defense in Europe on hold, but Russia wants the US to scrap the anti-missile system altogether. Lavrov's statement followed a similar warning from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.