... START
That’s about how the approaches of Russian analysts were divided a year ago, when light clouds in the area of arms control turned into an actual storm, that is, when the theoretical prospect of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty became a political reality. Those who advocated saving the treaty at any cost and by any means found themselves at one extreme. The proponents of the INF Treaty said terminating it would result in a multitude of grave ramifications, like triggering ...
This article is part of the Russia-EU: Promoting Informed Dialogue project supported by the European Union in Russia.
The 50-year-old arms control regime that helped keep the Cold War cold is beyond repair. It's time to begin discussing ways of moving toward a new global strategic regime.
Donald Trump is often accused of being utterly unpredictable. Yet on a number of issues he has demonstrated a high degree of consistency. Arms control is a prime example.
In 2017, Trump delivered on his promise...
.... A strengthened cooperation in the air component, though, can significantly expand capabilities of France’s strategic aviation, of course, on jet fighters, but it is what it is.
Andrey Kortunov:
Four Pieces of Advice to Emmanuel Macron about the INF Treaty
It may be tempting to disperse to multiple airfields across Europe during a heightened threat, but this would require the ground personnel of allied countries to undergo necessary trainings, including in the use of ASMP-A missiles, which is ...
... Washington Hope to Achieve? And What Are the Possible Implications of Its Decision?
The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) was a cornerstone of the system of bilateral arms control agreements and a key factor in maintaining the fragile balance in the nuclear forces of the two countries. The withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty will lead to the collapse ...
Disarmament Expert and former French diplomat Marc Finaud on Nuclear Terrorism and Arms Control
Marc Finaud is Senior Advisor and Head of 'Arms Proliferation' at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He is a former French diplomat who has been seconded to the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) between 2004 and 2013 and now works for this international foundation, where he trains diplomats and military officers in international and human security, and conducts research in those fields...
... current trends in Russia–EU relations carry a number of risks that should be mentioned when predicting possible scenarios for the further deterioration of these relations. The general deterioration of European security due to the expiration of the INF Treaty, the degradation of confidence-building measures, and the start of an arms race, including hi-tech weapons (understanding that the military-political situation in Europe cannot change drastically in 2020, and military spending in European countries ...
... be to try to reach out, formally or informally, to Russia to clarify the technical parameters of the proposed moratorium
The Russian moratorium proposal
On 2
nd
February 2019, when the United States announced that it intended to withdraw from the INF Treaty on 2
nd
August, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a
meeting
with ministers Shoigu and Lavrov to discuss the possible weapons that might be developed in response, and
framed a ‘formula’
for the moratorium on their deployment:
“…Russia ...
... And even if the Kremlin wanted to play that role, who would it support? President Trump? The same guy who has levied more sanctions against Russia (often unwarranted). The same guy who has lobbied against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, pulled out of the INF Treaty, permitted airstrikes that killed Russian nationals in Syria, provided lethal military aid to Ukraine, and sought regime change in countries like Venezuela — places where Russian energy companies have billion-dollar contracts? Or what about ...
... Palace, suggesting its current occupant was undermining the unity of the West and was, once again, all too willing to make unjustified concessions to Moscow. Many in the United States were surprised that France was trying to influence the fate of the INF Treaty, which was (or rather had been, before its demise) a bilateral treaty between Moscow and Washington.
Macron had some explaining to do to his American and European partners, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, journalists and experts, and ...
... the Treaty.
Andrey Kortunov:
Is There Life After Arms Control Death?
Yet the last four years have shown that, quite frequently, this is just what the current Administration does: neither the Treaty on Open Skies that they threaten to dismantle nor the INF Treaty runs counter to the interests of the US. Yet the US is withdrawing from them and does not wish to make any compromises to salvage them. In doing so, the US proceeds from the Trump Administration's political sentiment and ideology. Consequently,...
