(16 Oct 1996) Eng/Russ/Nat
U-S Defence Secretary William Perry arrived in Moscow Wednesday for discussions involving NATO expansion and approval for a key arms reduction pact.
The pact, the START II treaty, would eliminate all land-based nuclear weapons with multiple warheads by 2003.
Following a brief meeting with Russian Defence Minister Igor Rodionov, Perry says he is optimistic about further cooperation between Russia and NATO.
The Cold War may be over, but key issues such as the reduction of nuclear arsenals still have to be sorted out.
U-S Secretary of Defence William Perry arrived in Moscow to try and find a solution to such problems.
Perry scheduled a brief visit with his Russian counterpart Igor Rodionov to discuss bilateral cooperation in the military field, NATO's expansion to the East, European security and the situation in Bosnia.
The implementation of the START I strategic arms reduction treaty and the upcoming ratification by Russia of START II will be one of the central issues on the agenda.
The U-S Senate ratified START II in January, but action by the Russian parliament is needed to bring it into force.
The pact would eliminate all land-based nuclear weapons with multiple warheads by 2003.
It would shrink U-S and Russian arsenals by about two-thirds to about 3-thousand to 3- thousand-500 warheads on each side.
Perry believes that while there may be heavy up-front costs in getting rid of nuclear weapons, in the long run (b) billions of dollars can be saved.
The Russian Defence Minister joked that the outcome of the discussions could not be predicted.
SOUNDBITE: (Russian with English translation)
"I think everything will depend on the speech by the U-S Secretary of Defence Mr. Perry. And it will depend on the mood of our Duma in the morning. What astrological day is tomorrow? Is it a happy day?"
SUPERCAPTION: Igor Rodionov, Russian Defence Minister
SOUNDBITE:
"Already the United States and Russia co-operate bilaterally in many important areas, but in the meeting we discussed ways for NATO and Russia to co-operate. And all of these programs are underway and we will build on them and expand on them in the near future. That was the principle outcome of the discussions in Norway and it was a very positive one from the point of view of NATO and I believe it was positive from the point of view of the Russians as well."
SUPERCAPTION: U-S Defence Secretary William Perry
In addition to gathering support from the Russian government regarding cooperation with NATO, the U-S Defence Secretary is hoping the cash-strapped Russians will see the arms reduction agreement as being cost-effective.
Perry is scheduled to meet with First Deputy Defence Minister Andrei Kokoshin and address the Duma Thursday.
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