Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=02/04/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=RUSSIA / U-S-DEFENSE (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-272152

BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON

DATELINE=BRUSSELS

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Russia has sharply denounced U-S plans to develop and deploy a national missile defense, saying such a system could lead to a new arms race in outer space. V-O-A correspondent Roger Wilkison reports a top Russian security official says Moscow is willing to negotiate deeper cuts in the U-S and Russian nuclear arsenals if Washington abandons its plan for an anti-missile system.

TEXT: Speaking at an international security conference in Munich, Sergei Ivanov the secretary of Russia's security council says a U-S national missile defense will undermine the foundations of global strategic security and render a key 1972 arms agreement known as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty senseless. That, he warns, could lead to a new arms race, including in outer space.

Mr. Ivanov was reacting to a speech before the conference on Saturday by new U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who confirmed the Bush administration's plans to develop such a system despite objections from Russia, China and many U-S allies.

Mr. Rumsfeld said the system would not be a threat to Russia, and he told the conference the American people must not be left defenseless against limited threats.

U-S officials say they need a national missile defense to defend the United States from potential missile attacks by such states as North Korea, Iran or Iraq. But Mr. Ivanov says common political effort is a less dangerous and less costly way of restraining such countries. He cites the evolving situation in North Korea, which has, in the last year, increased contacts with South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Whereas the United States says the 1972 A-B-M treaty is outdated, Russia maintains that it is the cornerstone of global strategic stability. He says that, if Washington continues its adherence to the pact, Moscow is ready to negotiate reductions of offensive weapons with the United States to as low as 15-hundred or even lower.

But U-S diplomats say it is no longer a question of if Washington intends to implement a national missile defense, but when. (Signed)

NEB/RW/ALW/PFH