MOSCOW, July 14 (AVN) - The decisions taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Security Council on the development of the Strategic Nuclear Forces as the base of the country's security are reasoned by the criteria of effectiveness - cost - realisibility, Vladimir Yakovlev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces said Friday.
There are no grounds for changing the situation for the time being, Yakovlev noted summing up the results of the Defence Ministry board of July 12 devoted to the perspectives of the Armed Forces development for the period until 2016.
According to him, the current legislative base of the Strategic Nuclear Forces provides for its economical development and maintains the balance of forces in the framework of the international treaties. This gives Russia the possibility to keep the status of nuclear power and prevent the disbalancing of the political and diplomatic ties. The changing of the balance of forces can lead to a break in the negotiating process for strategic offensive arms. It will also cause the transfer of Russia into a secondary nuclear state and the loss of the opportunity to realise asymmetric measures in case the USA deploys its National Missile Defence system and withdraws from the 1972 ABM treaty.