The new START begins
Published: 21 May, 2009, 01:16
TAGS: Arms, Meeting, Military, Space, Russia, SciTech
Russia and the U.S. talks over a new deal to cut their atomic arsenals have ended and seem a success, but Moscow says there'll be little progress unless Washington reconsiders its plans for missile defence in Europe.
After years of failed talks between Moscow and Washington on a new arms reduction treaty, a US delegation finally came to town to talk business.
Despite the hush-hush nature of the 2-day meeting, some information did find its way out from behind the closed doors.
Both sides are apparently very pleased with the progress they've made, and the discussions are set to continue in a few weeks time.
Aleksandr Pikaev, an expert from the Committee of Scientists for Global Security, explains the shroud of secrecy over the negotiations.
“This is a long-standing diplomatic tradition. All diplomatic negotiations are being held in secrecy, behind closed doors, especially the negotiations of such a sensitive and complicated matter like strategic arms reduction talks. Moreover, this first round is particularly sensitive because the sides are delivering their initial negotiating positions,” Pikaev said.
The two sides do not have a lot of time on their hands. START-1 expires on December 5th of this year.
“There is too little time to complete talks within six months, therefore it is very likely that we will not have a new agreement by the expiration of START-1. It is not realistic to expect that START-1 will be prolonged automatically,” added Pikaev.
“If we are not ready to sign a new treaty by December 5 this year,” said Aleksey Arbatov, the director of International Security Center, “then we will get into this vacuum and first of all we will not know what the forces of the other side are doing, how they are modernized and so on”.
The obvious problems with not having an arms reduction treaty are not the only concerns.
There is another potential problem in the works. According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia wants the new START treaty to regulate the US-led anti-missile defence plans for Eastern Europe.
Lavrov recalled, “Security definitely cannot be achieved without taking into the account the situation with missile defence and other aspects, such as the possible deployment of weapons in space and plans to produce warheads not armed with nuclear weapons. I hope all these factors will be fully accounted for.”
Anti-ballistic missile defence, as it's come to be known, is something Washington is keen on, but Moscow vehemently opposes – with no compromise in sight.
A lot of potential stumbling blocks are on the road to an agreement. All involved hope the end will be reached before December 5th, but nobody knows how long these new treaty negotiations will take before materializing from discussion topics into reality.
Meanwhile, Russia and the U.S. agreed to continue talks in early June in Geneva on how to cut their nuclear arsenals.
21.05.2009, 00:23
12 comments
Russian mother wins custody of daughter from PortugalSix-year-old Aleksandra has finally arrived in Russia, her native land, though she has never been here before. On Monday, a Portuguese court returned the girl, living with a Portuguese couple, to her Russian mother. |
21.05.2009, 03:57
Gilded youth kills his family following rage over moneyA 21-year-old man is accused of shooting his father, mother and uncle in the Russian city of Volgograd on May 19. |
Russia should be careful over the US intentions!!! At some point US will surely try to overpower Russia and to reduce its significance on a permanent basis. The only thing that still does not let them do that is Russian Nuclear arsenal. The best way to realize what are the real intentions of US towards Russia is to come in Belgrade and see how they (US) treat Serbs. That is so because they see Serbs merely as "small Russians", or "balcan Russians", and since the Serbs are too weak to resist to such a great superpower, they do exercise their cruel approach with impunity. The same treatment would have been implemented against Russians too, if it were not for the Russian ballistic nuclear missiles. Putin and Medvedev should keep that in their mind, and, as to the Russian generals, I am sure they already know all that too well.
Obama is not well educated on defense policies to make such rash decisions. Our defense system is not an attack system. A reduction of neucler weapons would be a joke, unless every country of neculer is involved. Russia has been selling parts, uranium, and knowhow to the Middle East, for decades. The US has paid for dismantling their neucler junk, and left them wide open to do so. Communism is afraid of our democracy, for it shows how great a free country can respond to defend its freedom. Where there is no freedom, there is no hope, and that makes the tyrants that run everyone’s lives, open for scrutiny by their own people, with no hope. Obama was groomed for the presidency by Russia, (Told by a Russian business man as far back as 1996 plus), to take away those freedoms. While they are taking control of banks and business, in the guise of keeping us from a financial fall, they are keeping us on an economic yo, yo, and rushing through laws to strip us of our free choice. God gave us free will, and since the fifty two signers of our,' declaration Of Independence', declared by the will of the creator, they and by the creators might America would be freedoms light to other nations, countries have feared us. Why?, tyranny loses its hold where freedom rings. No man can take away what God has ordained. Every freedom seeking person looks toward America for hope. We as a Judo-Christian nation will remain strong only under this treaty with God, and Jesus Christ, the world's light. An American Patriot, and a freedom fighter, 'under God' we trust.