Carnegie Moscow Center
After the New START reduced U.S. and Russian deployments of strategic nuclear arms, Russia has decided to rely even more on relatively fast-flying ground-launched missiles to deliver the strategic nuclear weapons that remain.
U.S.-Russian security relations extend beyond the crucial New START Treaty; both the United States and Russia recognize the need for engaging in broader security cooperation.
After the New START Treaty was signed on April 8, 2010, U.S. and Russian authorities turned their attention from nuclear disarmament to other matters. However, crises in the nonproliferation regime and U.S.-Russian relations could arise all too soon, if the two governments do not continue to address bilateral nuclear disarmament.
Despite its decrease in transparency and limited reductions, the new START Treaty is nonetheless a major achievement. Above all, it is an important political accomplishment, and a significant result of the reset in Russian-U.S. cooperation.
Nuclear weapons are again at the forefront of U.S.-Russian relations. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) agreement has been signed, but its ratification still faces opposition in both Russia and the United States.
Two potentially conflicting imperatives drive Barack Obama’s nuclear agenda. On the one hand, he has called for a world free of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, he believes that the United States needs credible nuclear deterrence.
The global financial crisis and leadership changes in both Russia and the United States have led the bilateral relationship to an important juncture. Engagement should focus on mutual areas of economic and security interest.
Both U.S. presidential candidates support the strengthening of strategic cooperation between Russia and the United States, and consider the development of nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea to be unacceptable.
Alexei Arbatov, scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center, gave a talk on the Putin legacy and the likely trajectory of his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Ambassador James F. Collins, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program, moderated the event.