Russia accuses US of loose weapons control

Russia accused the United States on Saturday of breaching its obligations over the non proliferation of weapons, a sign of strained relations between the two powers. The charge came after a new arms control treaty between the United States and Russia suffered a setback this week when the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed a ratification vote until mid-September. Russia said it had successfully test fired two ballistic missiles from the Barents Sea on Friday, Interfax news agency reported, in another sign of muscle-flexing from Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on its web site the United States had been in breach of several arms-related treaties including the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) and a treaty on conventional weapons. "During the START I period, the United States failed to resolve Russia's concerns over how this treaty was being fulfilled," the ministry said, citing a long list of what it called irregularities, including a U.S. failure to provide information on ballistic missiles trials.