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as well as by a huge expansion of UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. In the early 1990s, about 40 new member countries joined the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), among them France and China. In 1995, the Treaty was extended for an indefinite time, and only five countries have remained outside it – India, Pakistan, Israel, Cuba and the Cook Islands. Seven countries gave up their military nuclear programs and the nuclear armaments they had previously possessed, while others had them removed by force (Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Iraq).
The end of the Cold War made the United States and eventually the other nuclear powers, including Russia, change their priorities. In the mid-1990s, the international security agenda focused on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles, the strengthening of the NPT regime, its institutions (IAEA) and additional agencies and mechanisms, the Missile Technology Control Regime, and export control measures. Despite great difficulties, the NPT signatories agreed in 1995 to extend the Treaty for an indefinite time. In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed, which was viewed not only as a measure of ‘vertical’ nuclear disarmament among the great powers but also as a parallel mechanism for strengthening the NPT regime, which would deny nonnuclear countries access, direct or indirect (for example, following India’s nuclear test in 1974), into the nuclear club. In 1997, the Additional Protocol to the NPT was signed, which has extended the IAEA’s right to inspect suspicious facilities in non-nuclear countries.
The horrible tragedies in New York and Washington on the morning of September 11, 2001, showed to the whole world a glimpse of the worst-possible proliferation scenario, in which nuclear weapons would fall into the hands of international terrorists who would use them to plunge the entire civilized world into shock and chaos. It seems unquestionable that further WMD proliferation and the danger of its merger with international terrorism (so called super
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terrorism or catastrophic terrorism) will continue to be a priority issue in Russian-U.S. relations, as well as in the cooperative efforts of the nuclear powers and nuclear suppliers, in UN activities, and in the practice of using force in international policies.
However, so far the policies of the great powers in these fields have been creating more problems than solutions, in other words, they are subscribing a ‘remedy’ that is worse than the disease itself. As has been mentioned above, the nuclear states’ policy was inconsistent and lacking coordination in their nuclear supplies and general political line toward ‘illegitimate’ nuclear and threshold countries. Equally problematic are Moscow’s and Washington’s positions on military nuclear programs and negotiations on the limitation and reduction of these weapons.
However, the point is not that the great powers do not formally fulfill their obligations stemming from Article VI of the NPT, which is devoted to nuclear disarmament. Contrary to popular belief, during the 1990s the U.S., Russia, Britain and France cut the number of nuclear warheads in their strategic nuclear forces by more than 50 percent, and considering reductions in their tactical nuclear forces, the nuclear arsenals of the four countries decreased by five times. The problem is that, although the great powers have been withdrawing outdated nuclear armaments from service en masse, they continue modernizing their nuclear weapons and have assigned a greater role to these weapons in their military doctrines, placing emphasis on weapon systems that are intended for real combat employment.
Despite Washington’s repeated official declarations that
Russia and the United States are no longer enemies, its effective operational plans and targets on the Russian territory for nuclear attacks have actually remained unchanged, and it continues to add an increasing number of facilities to its list of targets in China and other countries. This factor sets clear boundaries on the prospects for the elimination of nuclear weapons. This is why Washington has declined
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to reduce its strategic nuclear forces further than 2,000 warheads (plus 1,500 warheads kept in storage). Moreover, the U.S. is developing new low-yield nuclear munitions, allegedly for destroying underground targets, storage facilities and bunkers of terrorists and ‘rogue nations.’
To this end, Washington is making preparations for a possible resumption of nuclear tests in Nevada.
Alexei Arbatov, a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Director of the Center of International Security, Institute of the World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences.
Exercise 5. Render the following text, using the Russian word combinations below to help you and the connectors however, moreover, although, despite.
Прекратили быть врагами … идеологическое и геополитическое соперничество … годы, отмеченные беспрецедентным ростом влияния ООН … грандиозное расширение миротворческих и гуманитарных операций ООН … договор был продлен… отказались от разработки военных ядерных программ … сменить приоритеты… международная программа безопасности …несмотря на трудности… договор рассматривался не только как мера… закрыть доступ …инспектировать подозрительные объекты… попасть в руки международных террористов… кажется несомненным… совместные усилия… переговоры по сокращению ядерного оружия… (не) выполнять обязательства… отводить важную роль ядерному оружию в своих военных доктринах... устанавливать четкие границы.
Exercise 6. Translate the following noun groups into Russian.
1. nuclear |
arms |
control |
2. nuclear security issues |
agreement |
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|
|
3. the nuclear stockpiles |
4. verification regime |
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5. Strategic |
Arms |
Reduction |
6. nuclear terrorism |
Treaty |
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|
|
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7. nuclear weapons |
8. nuclear warheads |
9. Cold War adversaries |
10.arms control experts |
11. nuclear weapons policy |
12.the nuclear security |
|
summit |
Exercise 7. Read the article and render in Russian.
Prague, Czech Republic (CNN) – President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed a major nuclear arms control agreement that reduces the nuclear stockpiles of both nations.
The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) builds on a previous agreement that expired in December.
The agreement cuts the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia by about a third.
"This day demonstrates the determination of the United
States and Russia – the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons – to pursue responsible global leadership", Obama said after the signing.
Medvedev called START a "win-win situation" for the two countries.
The new treaty … is another step in nuclear arms relations between the former Cold War adversaries. Its signing comes two days after the Obama administration announced a new U.S. nuclear weapons policy and four days before Obama convenes a summit of 47 nations on nuclear security issues.
"It significantly reduces missiles and launchers," Obama said of the new treaty, which lasts for 10 years. "It puts in place a strong and effective verification regime. And it maintains the flexibility that we need to protect and advance our national security, and to guarantee our unwavering commitment to the security of our allies".
Obama has made nuclear nonproliferation a major priority of his presidency, prompting criticism from conservatives who fear the president will weaken the U.S. nuclear deterrent against possible attack.
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According to information released by the White House, the new treaty limits both nations to "significantly fewer strategic arms within seven years" of its signing. One of the limits: 1,550 warheads.
"Warheads on deployed ICBMs [Intercontinental ballistic missiles] and deployed SLBMs [submarine-launched ballistic missiles] count toward this limit and each deployed heavy bomber equipped for nuclear armaments counts as one warhead toward this limit", the White House said.
There also are limits on launchers.
The treaty also lays out a "verification regime" that includes on-site inspections, data exchanges and notifications, the White House said.
"The treaty does not contain any constraints on testing, development or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned United States long-range conventional strike capabilities", according to the White House.
Obama said the agreement is part of an effort to "reset" the U.S. relationship with Russia.
"With this agreement, the United States and Russia – the two largest nuclear powers in the world – also send a clear signal that we intend to lead," the president said. "By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities."
Negotiators have been working since April 2009 to wrap up the "follow-on" to the 1991 START agreement. Talks were difficult, with disagreements over verification, including onsite inspection of missiles that carry nuclear warheads.
Verification will be a top issue politically because the
U.S. Senate and the Russian parliament will each have to ratify any agreement.
Russian officials at one point objected to the Obama administration's plans to build a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe.