STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Sopranos fanatics, this one is for you. Tony Soprano's autographed Suburban is available for purchase on eBayTM. James Gandolfini has personally signed the vehicle. Find this and over 800 other Sopranos items for sale on eBay. http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/ebay ---------------------------------------------------------------------- <A HREF="aol://4344:30.L100d4wm.7251546.680016180"> 07/19: G8 ministers finesse controversy over ABM</A> G8 ministers finesse controversy over ABM ROME, July 19 (Reuters) - Major power foreign ministers on Thursday asserted a determination to promote "fundamental" arms control treaties, but in the shifting disarmament debate their support was not as clear-cut as it might seem. Reflecting what some might call diplomatic finesse and others sleight of hand, the Group of Eight industrial nations ministers' communique masked the controversy raging over the Bush administration's plan to get rid of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. "We welcome efforts to strengthen international arms control and non-proliferation regimes and reaffirm our determination to promote compliance with, and the universality of, the fundamental treaties related to weapons of mass destruction, and to contribute to the implementation of the conclusions of the conference held in the year 2000 on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty," they said. While the communique, issued after a two-day meeting in Rome, did not define "fundamental" treaties, the international community has long held that the ABM pact, which limits missile defences, was a cornerstone of strategic stability. But President George W. Bush, in a move that has forced the world to rethink the whole strategic structure, has pressed forward with plans for missile defences that aides say will in months "bump up against" the ABM treaty constraints. He envisions a system of ground, sea and air-based systems that would defend the United States against enemy missiles from such "rogue states" as North Korea, Iran and Iraq. Bush has dismissed the ABM Treaty as a Cold War "relic" and initiated negotiations with Russia, the other ABM signatory, to modify the accord or replace it with something else. If no agreement is forthcoming, Washington has asserted its intention to give six months' notice and then withdraw. When asked about the disarmament provision, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a news conference that the communique included no direct reference to ABM. At a closed-door discussion Thursday morning, Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley talked about the need to preserve existing treaties. U.S. officials said Powell responded, "We hear you, we understand you, but we need to make quite clear that just because treaties exist, doesn't mean they are immutable." At that session and later at the news conference, Powell reiterated that the United States has no intention of violating the ABM Treaty but instead would -- when the time comes -- take advantage of a treaty provision that allows for withdrawal on national security grounds. 09:22 07-19-01 Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
