RELEASE, AUDIO: Nuclear Security and US-Russia Relations On Eve Of Putin-Obama Meeting
CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO OF THE CALL (PART 1 AND PART 2)
On a conference call this morning, Steven Pifer, Director of the Arms Control Initiative at Brookings Institution and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; Jon Wolfsthal, Deputy Director of the Monterey Institute for International Studies Center for Nonproliferation and former Special Advisor to Vice President Biden for nuclear security and nonproliferation; and Dr. Robert Gallucci, President of MacArthur Foundation, former U.S. Ambassador at Large and Dean of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service; discussed their views on potential cooperation on nuclear and arms control issues between the U.S. and Russia during sideline meetings at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
“I think the Russians have left the door open. There are opportunities to begin a conversation on further nuclear reductions and resolving missile defense differences looking forward to the full-scale G20 summit in September,” said Pifer. “There is an opportunity to reduce deployed strategic nuclear weapons beyond the levels in the New START Treaty and begin discussing reserve strategic and tactical nuclear weapons reductions.”
Pifer added that “discussing all types of nuclear weapons allows the sides to ‘trade off’ reductions where they have advantages.”
Pifer questioned if a full treaty covering strategic and non-strategic nuclear weapons could be achieved by the time President Obama left office in 2017 given the need to address new classes of weapons and new verification procedures. He believed a workaround could be achieved by amending the New START treaty to lower levels and applying other measures to deal with reserve strategic and tactical nuclear weapons, perhaps with a view to a later treaty.
Wolfsthal joined Pifer in thinking a potential for arms reductions agreement was possible because of the economic situation in both Russia and the U.S.
“We are talking about getting rid of weapons we don’t need and cannot afford,” said Wolfsthal. “Nuclear reductions avoid spending on weapons that is needed elsewhere in the budget. Re-building the three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad and infrastructural supports is estimated to cost three-quarters of a trillion dollars over the next thirty-five years.”
Several reporters raised the question of Syria and that the U.S. and Russia are on different sides of the issue. Wolfsthal dismissed the thought that this could derail arms reduction talks. “The Russians have proven that they can compartmentalize,” said Wolfsthal. “Russia and the U.S. can work around the Syria issue to discuss arms reductions like they did with Iran and New START.”
“The reality of the situation is President Putin will sit down and do some analysis and decide if it is in his best interest to deal with President Obama – I think he will see that it is,” added Pifer.
Another reporter questioned if country’s differing position on Syria increased the nuclear risk. Wolfsthal stated, “The nuclear question is irrelevant in Syria.”
In the short-term, Dr. Gallucci hoped that the U.S. and Russia could agree to some extension of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (Nunn-Lugar) which expires on Sunday. “It would be a real shame if the program does not continue,” said Gallucci. “It will increase the level of risk we all have to tolerate in a very dangerous world.”
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