MOSCOW. May 17 (Interfax-AVN) - Nuclear potential of the Russian strategic missile forces should be retained in full after Russia and the United States sign an agreement on reduction of strategic offence weapons, former commander of the missile and space defense army Anatoly Sokolov told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
Sokolov said that in comparison with nuclear assets of the Russian Navy and Air Force the strategic missile forces were best prepared for their mission.
Undefined status of dismounted warheads is most likely to destroy the nuclear parity between Russia and the United States. The national nuclear doctrine has already been adopted in the United States, so the Americans will probably store the assets.
In addition to that, Sokolov stressed that the Russian side should take into consideration the ability of the U.S. military to ensure adequate conditions of storing the charges and delivery means, testing the assets via special equipment; they are also able to achieve rapid return of the operational status once the missiles are to be used.
This is not the case with Russia, Sokolov said. The Russian side is now about to reach a no-return point, dismounted warheads from the missiles.
Sokolov expressed his belief that Russia would be taken into account as long as it had adequate number of nuclear missiles. Once the number of assets is below the level, the relations with other countries, and the United States, above all, will be built on another basis, Sokolov opined.
Sokolov stressed that this is proved by the fact that U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell said in Reykjavik while working on the document that the United States liked the agreement.
Sokolov also said that the document would also considerably increase the efficiency of the American missile defense system that is now being developed in the United States. Smaller number of attacking missiles will facilitate their destruction via the anti-missile system. It is one thing to engage five or six thousand missiles and quite another to destroy two thousand targets, Sokolov added.