Russia should conclude separate ABM agts with US, NATO-official.

MOSCOW, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russia should conclude separate
agreements with the United States and European NATO members on issues of
anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defence, head of the defence committee of the
State Duma lower house of Russia's parliament Viktor Zavarzin said on
Thursday after the discussion in the house of the forthcoming ratification
of the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Officials
of the RF Foreign and Defence Ministries took part in the discussion
organised by the relevant Duma committees - on international affairs and
defence.
"During discussions on the problems of ratification of the
Russian-American START Treaty the lawmakers put questions to the Defence
Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials to which they did not get an
answer," Zavarzin admitted specifying that one of such questions was
"Russia's attitude to the missile defence."
In the view of the parliamentarian, "this problem requires a separate
discussion and separate agreements." "It is necessary to develop separate
agreements between Russia and America and also between Russia and
EuroNATO," he is certain.
He also noted "a serious interest" of the Defence Ministry and Foreign
Ministry in the discussion of disputable issues.
Speaking about the treaty itself Zavarzin stressed that it reflected
all START problems. Thanks to the treaty, the lawmaker is certain, Russia
will be able to revive and modernise its nuclear triad. "This treaty
spells out and supports this sphere, and improvements depend on the
economic condition of our state, as well as on the state and possibilities
of the defence-industrial complex," Zavarzin explained.
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.Medvedev says US military base in Kyrgyzstan should not be forever.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev is not against the US military base in Kyrgyzstan, but he
believes that such facilities should not stay on a permanent basis.
"The question of bases (in Kyrgyzstan) is not within the competence of
the Russian leadership," he said in an interview to The Wall Street
Journal. "But if you would like to know my opinion, I would like to stress
once again that such kind of facilities, they should not be used
permanently but should end their work after the corresponding operations
are over," he noted.
"The fate of this base is in the hands of the leadership of
Kyrgyzstan. Let them decide," Medvedev stated.
"You know, I have never been against the American base, because this
base is in the territory of Kyrgyzstan," the Russian head of state
emphasised.
"If the Kyrgyz leadership at one stage regarded that they need this
base, it is their decision," the RF president said.
Medvedev recalled that the decision on the deployment of the base was
made at the beginning of this decade when the campaign in Afghanistan
started and the American partners needed assistance. "Russia then
supported this idea saying that if this is needed, if this is for the
fight against terrorism, for the establishment of order, then go ahead,"
he said. "But it is obvious, and this is my position, I express it openly,
it should not exist forever, it should, in my view, fulfil the concrete
tasks and finish its work," Medvedev stressed. "And this issue, perhaps,
is the most debatable: if it is necessary to do something more or not,"
the president said.
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.Dialogue should be built with Tehran - Medvedev.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev is certain that it is necessary to build a dialogue with Iran and
even exert pressure on Tehran, but without creating problems for the
population and to act together with the international community.
"In my view, the situation should be the following: yes, it is
necessary to build a dialogue with Tehran, and when is needed - to exert
pressure and call for a constructive position, but in no circumstances to
create problems for the civilian population and act collectively,
jointly," the RF president stated in an interview to The Wall Street
Journal. "So if we behave responsibly this way, I am certain that we will
achieve results after all," he said.
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.Soyuz spaceship docks to ISS.
18/6 Tass 58

KOROLEV (Moscow region), June 18 (Itar-Tass) - The Soyuz manned
spaceship with the Russian-American crew of three has docked to the
International Space Station (ISS), the Mission Control Centre outside
Moscow told Itar-Tass.
The Soyuz TMA-19 that was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan on June 16, has lifted to the orbiting outpost Russian
cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronauts Douglas Wheelock and
Shannon Walker. With their arrival the ISS crew will again have six
members.
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