Lawmaker:

Russia Developing Weapons Capable of Responding to Increased US Threat

TEHRAN (defapress) - A senior Russian official told Sputnik that Russia was developing options for the most effective ways of using its armed forces in order to respond to increasing external threats.

News ID: 66366

Date: 13 October 2017 - 20:10

Russia is developing weapons capable of responding to external threats, including to growing US missile defenses and prompt global strike systems, a member of the country's Federation Council and former chair of its defense committee, Viktor Ozerov, told Sputnik on Friday, Sputnik reported.

"We are developing our armed forces, we have our own weapons program, which can be adopted before the end of this year," Ozerov said, commenting on Emelyanov's statements.

According to the lawmaker, Russia cannot influence the development of US missile defenses and prompt global strike systems, since there are no bilateral commitments between the two countries.

Ozerov recalled that when Russia and the United States had ratified the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or SNV-III), and the Russian side assumed that one of the conditions for withdrawing from this treaty could be a violation of the balance between strategic offensive and defensive weapons.

"The United States puts this most important document in the field of nuclear missile disarmament in jeopardy," he stressed.

According to Ozerov, Russia is working on the options for the most effective ways of using its armed forces.

Commenting on the development of a prompt global strike system by the United States, the senator stressed that "nothing new has been discovered here, this is not a secret for the General Staff."

The parliamentarian also does not believe that the United States can use their prompt global strike systems against North Korea, as it has enough other offensive weapons.

The comment comes after Russian Defense Ministry representative Alexander Emelyanov said Thursday that the number of missile defense system warheads being deployed by the United States, that would exceed 1,000 by 2022, surpassed amounts which Russia's nuclear deterrence potential was capable of containing, posing a threat to global security. He also said that the Pentagon had started the creation of prospective systems of a prompt global strike.