Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Security and Terrorism Watch
26 March 2002, Volume 3, Number 11
DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS MOSCOW MAY COMPROMISE ON WEAPONS STORAGE... Sergei Ivanov said in Washington on 17 March that Russia may
consent to a new nuclear arms deal allowing the United States to store some decommissioned weapons instead of destroying them,
international news agencies reported. Ivanov's comments, broadcast on NBC's "Meet the Press" the same day, suggested a softening
of the Kremlin position on the issue. Moscow had previously been insisting that all retired warheads be destroyed. "Part of it
may be stored. I don't argue with that principle -- well, out of hand," Ivanov said. "But the devil is in the details: how much, how long, and how quickly it might go back to operational, and, well, jeopardize strategic stability."
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