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Moscow not satisfied with US ABM transparency, it needs legal guarantees-FM

Ryabkov noted that the U.S. proposals “are linked to the discussions our countries have held at various levels in recent years”

MOSCOW, June 19 (Itar-Tass) - Transparency with regard to the U.S. missile defence system is not enough and there must be legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

“As for the proposal to sign a legally binding agreement on transparency, the situation is as follows. Transparency is important but it is not enough, we suggest signing an agreement not on transparency but on legally binding guarantees that the American system will not be aimed against Russia’s nuclear deterrence capabilities,” he told International Affairs magazine on Wednesday, June 19.

For such an agreement to be effective, rather than declaratory, it should state mutually agreed upon and coordinated military-technical parameters and criteria by which to judge that the system is not aimed against Russia, he said.

Ryabkov noted that the U.S. proposals “are not without concrete details” and “are linked to the discussions our countries have held at various levels in recent years.”

“I am not going to say that these proposals are decorative or not serious. I want to stress that we note their seriousness but we say that this is not enough,” the diplomat said.

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