The US and Russia have accused each other in the UN Security Council to fuel a new arms race. Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Dmitry Poljanski said yesterday in the Security Council in New York that the test of a US medium-range missile a few days ago shows that the US is „ready for a new arms race“. Russia, on the other hand, relies on a „serious dialogue“ on arms control.
US diplomat Jonathan Cohen countered that Russia and China would expect restraint in armaments from the US, while they themselves maintained „unabated and unabashed“ rearmament. The US weapons test last Sunday was „neither provocative nor destabilizing“.
Moscow called for meeting
Russia called for the meeting of the UN Security Council after testing a US medium-range missile last Sunday. About two weeks after the end of the INF disarmament treaty, the US had fired a land-based and conventional missile of more than 500 kilometers according to Pentagon data. The missile test would have been prohibited under the terms of the INF Treaty.
The termination of the agreement by the US and Russia on 2 August has fueled worldwide fears of a new and dangerous arms race. The 1987 agreement between the United States and the then Soviet Union banned land-based missiles and cruise missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers that can carry nuclear warheads.
Atomic incident topic
In the UN Security Council, US diplomat Cohen also talked about the nuclear accident on a Russian testing ground two weeks ago. „What exactly happened on August 8 in Russia? What caused the explosion, what kind of system was it, and what purpose does this system serve? “
The five-casualty accident occurred on a platform in the sea at the Nyonoska proving ground, about 30 kilometers from the city of Severodvinsk. Russia has given only a few details about the explosion. Experts see the disaster in connection with the development of a nuclear-powered rocket.
