... sensitive. Besides, in light of the departure of the United Kingdom, the European Union no longer has a fleet that could help France out in the Atlantic. 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 ...
... Treaty did not cause an immediate apocalypse and life without the Treaty is becoming part of the “new normal” that both Eastern and Western Europe have been talking about for almost six years.
It would be very disappointing if the interest shown by France in the INF Treaty remained just vague political declarations and rhetoric without any substantial practical output. If I were to advise Macron on foreign policy, I would give the French leader four pieces of advice on how to drive the issue of the INF Treaty,...
Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrey Kortunov on the Future of Nuclear Arms Control
Andrey Kortunov:
The Domino Effect: America’s Withdrawal from the INF Treaty and Its Ramifications
Few of us remember how negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme began. In October 2003, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Dominique de Villepin and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Joschka Fischer approached President of Iran Mohammad Khatami in an attempt to persuade him to comply with IAEA requirements and also to provide him with guarantees that ...
... cruise missile could result in the development of new long-range land-based cruise missiles in response to Russia’s efforts, but this is an undesirable scenario. At this point in time, it would be useful for the United Kingdom (
highly unlikely
) or France (
more likely
) to initiate a revision of the INF Treaty, or create an environment for the preservation of its most important achievements. For example, the interested parties could work together on the definitions for new weapon systems, or on the geographical self-limitations for the deployment ...
... touched upon in the course of the meeting: various aspects of Syrian Settlement, results of the quadripartite Russia-Turkey-France-Germany summit meeting in Istanbul, options for Syrian political transit, possible areas of cooperation between Russia and France in Syria and in the Middle East.
The meeting also focused on the military-political consequences of the likely withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty, ways to overcome the current arms control crisis and to restore a single and indivisible European security system. The meeting was attended by the staff of the French Embassy in Moscow.
