MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The U.S. Congress shares Russia's position on the need to maintain tough control over strategic nuclear weapons, and this provision may be included in the new treaty on the matter, said U.S. senator Richard Lugar.
The U.S. is operating on the assumption that the strategic weapons talks should continue and should include inspections and reports on the number of warheads," Lugar told a press conference in the Interfax central office on Friday.
The Congress also believes that this work should continue now that the START agreement is nearing expiration.
Lugar disagreed that Russia is tying the negotiations on the new treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons with missile defense issues.
It is perfectly obvious that negotiations, which are important to both Russia and the U.S., should be started due to the expiration of the START-1 Treaty in December 2009 and the beginning of the new U.S. administration led by President Barack Obama.
The U.S. position on missile defense is that missile defense is very important to the U.S., Russia, Europe, and the rest of the world.
It is possible to create such a missile defense system that will protect all countries from missiles, especially those equipped with nuclear warheads," said Lugar.
At the same time, the senator stressed that missile defense is a separate issue, which should not be mixed with the resumption of the START Treaty.