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Reviewing obligations under START treaty not on agenda now — Russian Foreign Ministry

In future Russia will probably have to analyze observance of START treaty in connection with NATO’s plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe, a Foreign Ministry official says

MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Russia is not considering reviewing its obligations under START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), Deputy Director of Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department on Security Affairs and Disarmament Vladimir Leontyev said on Wednesday.

"At a certain stage [in the future], Russia will probably have to analyze observance of START treaty in connection with [NATO’s] plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe," Leontyev said. "However, the issue is not on the agenda at the moment," he added.

"There is a condition in the START treaty that there is certain connection between strategic offensive and strategic defensive arms," the diplomat said. "It is clearly stated in the preamble to the agreement. It is also stated there that at the moment of signing the treaty, developing strategic defensive weapons — missile defense systems — does not threaten viability and observance of the treaty. But the situation does not stay unchanged. US and NATO’s missile defense plans are progressing," he added.

"We are attentively following and analyzing the situation, and will continue doing so," Leontyev stressed.