Russia for years has been violating the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which is set to expire Dec. 5.
Mr. Verma stated that the administration has "committed ourselves fully" to finishing a new treaty by Dec. 5. "If a follow-on treaty cannot be concluded by December, the United States and Russia will need to find a mutually acceptable means to continue essential verification and transparency measures until a new treaty enters into force," he said, noting that a five-year extension of the old treaty is not likely.
"In this case, it appears the Russians have cheated - if not in the letter of the START agreement, at least in its spirit - by converting one of their existing missiles, the Topol-M, to this new multiple-warhead variant," he said.
A Senate Republican aide said the Russians have been developing the new missile in secret for years. "Essentially what's happening is they've got a missile ready to field as soon as START expires," said the aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly.
This is why you never disarm...evil exists in this world and will always cheat. If you disarm, you will be left at a disadvantage when violence breaks out.
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