The new START Treaty to be signed by Russian and US Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama in Prague on April 8 creates real possibilities for saving funds even in the near future, for instance, at the time of verification of its implementation. The Russian and US delegations to the signing ceremony will also include legislators. It is impossible to expect 100 percent synchronization of the ratification because of different procedures in Russia and the United States.
The process has three phases in Russia, including hearings at the State Duma and the Federation Council and approval by the chief of state, and two phases in the United States (Senate hearings and approval by the chief of state). At the same time, Senate procedures take longer.
Preparation for Ratification
The State Duma is thoroughly preparing for the ratification. However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has promised that the treaty would be submitted to the house by the end of April. There will be preliminary consultations or even special hearings. There are no disagreements over the content of the new treaty.
The US side said that the treaty did not limit missile defense systems but affirmed a link between strategic defensive and offensive weapons. This link allows Russia to quit the treaty in case of a unilateral breach of the balance of forces. That would be a deterring factor for the United States.
The treaty will be subject to ratification and will come into force at a time of exchange of instruments of ratification. Its period of operation is ten years. A provision is made for prolonging the treaty on a decision of the Sides for a period of no longer than five years if it is not replaced earlier by a subsequent agreement on reduction or limitation of strategic offensive weapons.
Implementation of Treaty
The treaty's implementation will not necessitate allocation of additional appropriations from the federal budget. Obligations, provided for by the treaty, will be implemented thanks to funds, provided for by federal bodies of executive power for appropriate activities.In addition, following reduction of the nuclear potential, redundant from the viewpoint of containment, the burden of its servicing will decrease in future, naturally.
The new treaty also creates real possibilities to save funds even in the near future, for instance, for verification of its implementation. At the same time, some difficulties may arise in creating favorable public opinion with respect to the document. Regrettably, both sides underestimated, at some stage, activities and antagonism of opponents to the development of Russian-American relations. Many of them exploited their criticism of the future Treaty as an instrument of pumping up political confrontation between the two countries.
Ensuring Global Security
This document, the new US nuclear strategy, has not been published yet and we do not have the opportunity to examine it closely. However, at first glance and judging by what President Obama has said, I have a positive opinion about this document, since it is a considerable step toward the Russian concept and in keeping with how Russia sees the problem of ensuring global security.
Hopefully, after the new treaty on strategic offensive weapons is signed by Russia and the US, all incomplete and unclear aspects will be removed and the treaty will be not just a diplomatic document, but truly reflect Russian and US stances on this issue.
Three Major Issues
At the same time, there are three main issues on which the White House could make its stance clearer. He recalled that the Russian leadership had recently proposed to keep nuclear arsenals based only in the countries where they currently exist. Russia has no nuclear weapons beyond its borders, whereas the US tactical nuclear weapons are deployed in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and, if I am not mistaken, Turkey, as well as the US.
The second issue is the commitment of the two leading world superpowers not to deploy nuclear weapons in space. For now, the US has not been deploying nuclear weapons in space, but as this is technically feasible one cannot entirely rule it out.
The third issue is the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Russia has long ratified it, but the US has not.
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