Date sent: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 06:31:01 -0500 (EST) To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: David Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Kremlin says Iraq raid may wreck START-2 MOSCOW, Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes against Iraq may have wrecked chances of the Russian parliament agreeing to ratify the 1993 START-2 nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, a senior Kremlin official said on Thursday. ``You can forget about START-2 ratification,'' Sergei Prikhodko, President Boris Yeltsin's deputy chief-of-staff for foreign affairs, was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass and RIA news agencies. He said he was basing his forecast on statements by members of the State Duma lower house on Thursday. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, whose party is the biggest in parliament and has long been reluctant to ratify the START-2 treaty, said there was now ``no point'' in discussing it. He called for an increase in arms spending to counter what he called ``state terrorism'' on the part of the United States. But First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Maslyukov, a moderate Communist who joined the government in September, was quoted as telling fellow party members they should ratify START-2 as soon as possible. The Kremlin has been urging ratification but the Duma has complained Russia simply cannot afford the costly process of taking missiles out of service without more financial help from the United States. Some Communists also argue Russia should not be reducing its defences. Prikhodko was also quoted as confirming that Russia had not been officially informed of the strikes before the attack on Iraq began, although he had been told of the plans by French President Jacques Chirac during a telephone conversation.
