-Caveat Lector- U.S., Russia in Nuclear Stalemate By GREG MYRE .c The Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) -- After letting the START II arms control treaty languish for six years, Russia's skeptical parliament twice appeared on the verge of ratifying the U.S.-Russian agreement in recent months. But with uncanny timing, the United States and its allies launched airstrikes just prior to both parliamentary sessions -- first hitting Iraq in December and then hammering Yugoslavia in March. Outraged by the bombings, Russian lawmakers scrapped both sessions and now appear unlikely to act until after a new parliament is elected December, according to Russian legislators and analysts. ``In practical terms, START II is finished for now and for some period into the future,'' said Alexander Pikayev, a military analyst with the Carnegie Center in Moscow. ``It would be too risky (for Russian politicians) to move forward now,'' he said of the 1993 treaty, which would limit each side to 3,000 to 3,500 strategic warheads, half the current levels. No one is predicting a greater threat of nuclear confrontation between Russia and the United States. But arms control has become even more complicated in some ways, and U.S.-Russian frictions over Yugoslavia and other issues are likely to delay breakthroughs that once seemed close at hand. Meanwhile, Russia is growing more, not less, reliant on its nuclear arsenal. The country's conventional forces are in deep decline and NATO's expansion into eastern Europe has left Moscow feeling vulnerable. The relationship is also strained over American accusations that Russia has been leaking nuclear technology to Iran, a charge Moscow denies. In addition, Washington wants to revise the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty to build a limited missile defense, a move Russia strongly opposes. Russia has further muddied the waters by giving off mixed signals. President Boris Yeltsin stresses that Russia will not get involved militarily in the Yugoslav conflict, and doesn't want it undermining broader U.S.-Russian relations. Yet the president caused a stir April 9 when he and the speaker of parliament, Gennady Seleznyov, discussed the re-targeting of ballistic missiles at NATO countries, according to Seleznyov. Yeltsin's office denied initial reports that the missiles had been re-targeted, but didn't deny that such a conversation took place. And Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said the country's nuclear forces were on the ``highest level'' of combat readiness because of the NATO airstrikes. ``Clearly, the Russians assign a high priority to their nuclear capability,'' said Terry Taylor, assistant director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. ``It's the strongest card they have at the global security conference table.'' Despite the heated rhetoric, the two countries are quietly pressing ahead with existing deals, such as START I, which already have brought substantial nuclear cutbacks. The United States and the Soviet Union each had more than 10,000 strategic nuclear warheads at the start of the decade. They're now approaching 6,000, as stipulated by START I. With Russia hurting for money, the United States is spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year to help Russia meet its START I obligations. American equipment helps dismantle Russian nuclear bombers, saw apart submarine missile launchers, and bury missile silos. American cash is building a large complex in the Ural Mountains to safely store nuclear materials. U.S. dollars pay for computers to track Russia's vast stores of uranium and plutonium. Known as the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, it ``has continued with only minor bumps'' since the Kosovo conflict, said U.S. Col. Robert Boudreau, chief of the CTR office in Moscow. Americans involved in the program believe they still have years worth of work ahead of them, and it has been viewed as a success at a relatively modest cost of about $2.5 billion since its inception in 1992. But U.S. Congress must reauthorize the program by June. Both countries want the program extended, though they haven't resolved disputes such as whether Russia can impose taxes and duties on the U.S. assistance. As this example illustrates, Russia's desperate need for cash sometimes complicates arms control. But Russia's money woes are also a virtual guarantee that the country will get rid of thousands of nuclear weapons in coming years, regardless of whether formal treaties are signed. Russia can't afford to maintain its existing nuclear arsenal, and plans to build only small numbers of new ones, mainly the mobile Topol-M. Yeltsin has used this argument in lobbying lawmakers to ratify START II and to open negotiations on START III, which could bring each side down to about 2,000 deployable warheads. Communists and other hard-liners in parliament's lower house, the State Duma, remain deeply suspicious of the United States. But they appeared to be moving toward ratification until the two recent U.S.-led bombing raids. ``The Duma was ready to ratify START II,'' said Valdimir Lukin, a liberal lawmaker who's been pushing for approval as head of parliament's International Affairs Committee. ``Honestly, it's to our advantage to ratify, but in the current situation it's impossible. There is no trust in the United States.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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