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U.S.-Russia: Russia Discards START II Treaty Russia no longer feels obligated to the restrictions of the START II Treaty because there is no likelihood that the treaty will enter into force, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced today (see GSN, May 28). Russia “does not consider itself bound any longer by the obligation, envisaged by international law, to refrain from actions which could render the treaty devoid of object and goal,” the ministry said in a statement (Dmitry Panovkin, ITAR-Tass, June 14). “The United States declined to ratify START II and the New York agreements, and moreover withdrew on June 13 from the ABM [Anti-Ballistic Missile] Treaty, thus invalidating that cornerstone of strategic stability for three decades,” the ministry said (see GSN, June 13). No Retaliation for Withdrawal Russia, however, will not retaliate against the United States for its recent withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty, Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Ivanov said. “The (U.S.) national missile defense system exists in virtual space, not in reality, so there is no need for retaliation,” Ivanov was quoted by Interfax as saying. “There is no telling how the situation in missile defense will develop” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo.com, June 14). For further information, see: U.S. Fact Sheet on Withdrawal from ABM Treaty
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