Awwal 04, 1432 H/Feb 07, 2011, SPA -- Russia on Monday urged the United States to withdraw its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe, dpa quoted NATO's top official as saying he was optimistic talks on the issue could be held. Such a move by the US would build confidence, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in Moscow, Interfax news agency reported. The call came two days after the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, came into force between Russia and the US. Earlier, Russia's State Duma parliament had asked the US to redeploy its nuclear weapons back home and dismantle the infrastructure for them on foreign soil. The number of US battlefield nuclear weapons in Europe is a closely-guarded secret, but unofficial reports and leaks suggest that there are some 200 warheads stored in depots in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Over the past 18 months, NATO officials have repeatedly said that they would like to see New START followed by an agreement on reducing the tactical nuclear stockpiles in Europe. According to NATO, Russia currently has some 5,000 such warheads on its European territory. In a separate briefing on Monday in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said new START made him "optimistic" that it would be possible to launch negotiations on the issue. Meanwhile, speaking in Moscow, Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov repeated his call for NATO to build a common missile defence programme with Russia in Europe. -- SPA
