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US Calls Off Missile Defense System Tests
The United States has postponed two missile defense system tests ahead of talks between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to avoid accusations it was violating the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday.
"We have said we would not violate the treaty while it remains in force. In recent days, to keep from having it suggested that we might not be keeping that commitment, we have voluntarily restrained our ballistic missile defense test program," Rumsfeld said at a news conference at Pentagon.
He reaffirmed the long-standing U.S. position that the treaty should be set aside by the United States and Russia to allow unrestricted testing and development of defense against ballistic missiles.
"Specifically the ballistic missile defense organization has refrained from conducting several test activities, each of which, some lawyers could debate, might have been a violation of the treaty were we to have proceeded," Rumsfeld said.
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