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Russian Communist leader attacks Russia's policy on nuclear forces, NATO
Interfax

Moscow, 14 December: The leader of the Russian Communist Party and the Popular Patriotic Union of Russia, Gennadiy Zyuganov, has asked President Vladimir Putin to hold urgent consultations with both parliamentary chambers regarding the USA's abandonment of the 1972 ABM Treaty.

"An assessment of US actions is not a personal matter of Mr Putin," Zyuganov said in a statement on Friday [14 December]. Russia should give "an appropriate response to the USA, similar to the one that our predecessors gave to Nazi Germany," he said.

Russia "still has time to drastically review its state strategy," the statement reads. The strategic nuclear forces and conventional armed forces should receive priority financing, he said. Decisions on closing down the radar facilities in Cuba and the Russian naval base in Vietnam should be reviewed. Cooperation should be intensified with the countries that are also affected by the US decision. Russia must "stop its shameful flirtation with NATO," he said.

The US actions allow Russia to ignore commitments that "[former Russian president Boris] Yeltsin made to undermine the structure of strategic nuclear forces and abandon use of multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles," he said.

"Russia's Popular Patriotic Union and the Russian Communist Party protest against Mr Putin's intention to drastically reduce Russia's nuclear forces. These steps directly contribute to the higher efficiency of the US missile defence and will completely destroy Russia's defence capabilities," the statement reads. "'Hawks' have come to dominate the US leadership, and under the pretext of fighting terrorism, they intend to bring the entire world to its knees and achieve military supremacy over Russia," according to the statement.

The US president's step will escalate the arms race and divert gigantic resources from important social problems, he said.