俄罗斯昨日威胁称，如果美国不放弃在东欧地区部署导弹防御系统的计划，俄罗斯将退出具有划时代意义的核武器控制条约。

Russia threatened yesterday to pull out of a landmark¹ nuclear arms control treaty unless the US backed away from plans to install its missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.

俄军总参谋长尤里o巴卢耶夫斯基(Yuri Baluyevsky)表示，俄罗斯可能单方面退出美国和前苏联1987年签署的《消除中程和中短程导弹条约》(《中导条约》)。根据这份条约，两国均不得发展射程介于500公里至5500公里、地面发射的导弹，无论是弹道还是巡航导弹，携带核弹头还是常规弹头。

Yury Baluyevsky, the Russian army chief of staff, said Moscow might unilaterally withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty, which forced the US and the Soviet² Union to ban nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500km.

他表示，"许多国家正在研制并完善各种中程导弹"，所以俄罗斯有"令人信服的理由"退出该条约。

There was "convincing evidence" for leaving the agreement because "many countries are developing and perfecting medium range rockets", he said.

但巴卢耶夫斯基也明确表示，俄罗斯的立场与美国在中欧地区部署导弹防御系统的计划有关。

But the general also explicitly³ linked Russia's stance to the US's plans to extend its missile defence into central Europe.

美国五角大楼正准备与波兰和捷克展开谈判，计划在这两个国家部署导弹拦截系统和雷达。波兰总理雅罗斯瓦夫o卡钦斯基(Jaroslaw Kaczynski)昨日对加入导弹防御系统表示了有条件的支持。

The Pentagon is preparing to start negotiations⁴ with Poland and the Czech Republic about hosting missile interceptors and radars⁵. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Polish prime minister, yesterday expressed conditional⁶ support for participating in the system.

五角大楼一位高级官员表示，美国将"抵制"俄罗斯的举动。他表示，对美国的欧洲盟友而言，俄罗斯此举具有十分严重的影响。

A senior Pentagon official said the US would "resist" the Russian move, which he said would have serious implications for American allies in Europe.

《中导条约》规定，一方有权退出该条约，但前提是出现"非常事态……危及其最高利益"，并且需要提前6个月通知。美国国务院(State Department)表示，俄罗斯尚未正式通知美国其打算退出该条约。

The INF treaty includes the right for a party to withdraw with six months' notice if "extraordinary events?.?.?.?jeopardised its supreme⁷ interests". The State Department said Russia had not formally notified the US of any move to abrogate⁸ the treaty.

巴卢耶夫斯基发表上述言论前几天，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔o普京(Vladimir Putin)曾警告称，美国试图在波兰部署导弹防御系统，可能引发新一轮的军备竞赛。

Gen Baluyevsky's comments came days after Vladimir Putin, Russian president, warned that US attempts to deploy⁹ part of its missile shield in Poland could spark a new arms race.

普京表示，鉴于中短程导弹的扩散，《中导条约》已不再符合俄罗斯的利益。他拒绝接受美国有关导弹防御系统只针对朝鲜和伊朗等国、不针对俄罗斯的说法。

Mr Putin said the INF treaty was no longer in its interests because of proliferation of short and medium-range missiles. He rejected US assertions that the system was aimed at countries such as North Korea and Iran, not at Russia.

英国《金融时报》季米特里o斯瓦斯托普洛(Demetri Sevastopulo)华盛顿、尼尔o巴克利(Neil Buckley)莫斯科、丹尼尔o董贝(Daniel Dombey)伦敦、扬o切恩斯基(Jan Cienski)华沙报道