Russia ties arms talks to missile shield

Sergey Lavrov's remarks signal that the Kremlin is taking a tough posture in negotiations on cutting nuclear arsenals.

The statement came as US and Russian negotiators wrapped up their first round of talks on forging a replacement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Lavrov said at a news conference that any deal must mark a "step forward" from the existing agreements and provide "equal security to both parties and preserve parity in the sphere of strategic stability."

"It's impossible to achieve that without taking into account the situation in the missile defense sphere and many other factors, including [plans for] deployment of strike systems in space, plans for development of non-nuclear warheads and the situation with conventional weapons taking into consideration numerous innovative approaches," he said.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday in Washington that a decision was yet to be made on the future of the missile defense system.

Gates said the United States may want to see whether Russia can be brought into the program, which he said would make it more effective.

Russian officials have warned in the past that the planned US missile shield with potential space-based components could erode Russia's nuclear deterrent and give Washington a first-strike capability.

Moscow also has voiced concern about the US plans to swap nuclear warheads for conventional explosives on some long-range ballistic missiles. It says the plan is destabilizing because it would be impossible to tell whether a missile launched by the United States was carrying a nuclear warhead.

These and other differences make many specialists doubt that Moscow and Washington can reach a new agreement before the START treaty expires on Dec. 5, even though both nations have said they want to further reduce their nuclear stockpiles.

ASSOCIATED PRESS