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#5 - RW 10-8-04 - RW Home
pravda.ru
www.Pravda.Ru
October 7, 2004
200 American nukes said to be in Western Europe
The US administration is seriously concerned with Russia's failure to reduce
tactical nuclear arms
Washington is seriously concerned that Russia has incompletely fulfilled its
obligations to reduce tactical nuclear arms in Europe. The statement has been
released by Stephen Rademaker, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control,
after the talks with the Russian specialists. The talks were devoted to issues
of control over nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
According to the American official, the European community is concerned about
the large quantity of Russian tactical warheads in the region and about the
countries, at which those nukes are aimed. Rademaker said that tactical nuclear
arms of NATO countries do not raise so much concern for the US administration.
In 1991, the US president stated that the American tactical nuclear arms in
Europe would be considerably reduced. US nukes were removed; their utilization
was completed last year. Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced the reduction
of nuclear arms at that time too. However, the US administration believes that
Russia failed to stand by its commitments.
The high-ranking American official did not specify either the reason or the
ground of such concerns. Stephen Rademaker did not say why US specialists
suspect several Russian companies of providing assistance to Iran in the
development of long-range missiles. According to Rademaker, it is highly
dangerous: Iran presently possesses 2,000-kilometer distant missiles, which
cannot reach the USA. However, Rademaker added, the range could be increased
some day. The US administration believes that such missiles will be rather
important for Iran, if they are capable of taking weapons of mass destruction to
large distances. In addition, the US diplomat said, Iran supports terrorist
movements in several Mideast states. The American administration is seriously
concerned about a possibility for one of those terrorist groups to obtain
nuclear weapons.
Rademaker's statements have probably been timed to the forthcoming visit of
the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Iran. The visit is scheduled for
October 10-11. The talks will reportedly touch upon the issues of nuclear
cooperation between Iran and Russia. Tehran has repeatedly stated that its
nuclear program was solely peaceful. Spokespeople for the Russian Foreign
Ministry did not comment Stephen Rademaker's statements.
As far as the tactical nuclear arms are concerned, one has to believe
politicians, when they say that the arms have been reduced. Unlike strategic
nuclear forces, which have been repeatedly calculated and inspected, the
international community cannot control the tactical warheads. However, both
Russia and Washington express their concerns on the issue from time to time. The
American administration is basically worried about the deployment of nukes in
Russia's Kaliningrad region, whereas Russia denies the nuclear presence in the
region. In return, Russian officials remind Washington that there are 200 B-51
American nuclear air bombs in Western Europe. The US administration neither
rejects their existence, nor does it say that the arsenal is useless from the
military point of view.
Dmitry Litovkin
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