Navigating the nuclear abyss
While Russia suspends the New START Treaty with the US, China continues rearming. Can the demise of nuclear arms control still be averted?
Efforts to control and reduce nuclear weapons did not fare well in 2023, and the near future offers little reason for optimism. Russia’s decision to ‘suspend’ the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the absence of a US-Russian dialogue on nuclear arms control or risk reduction and China’s nuclear build-up are opening the path to a nuclear arms race.
Several steps to avoid that path are evident: fully implement New START, resume US-Russian discussions on a range of strategic stability issues and establish an ongoing dialogue with China on nuclear arms and related matters. Unfortunately, at present, it is difficult to see the major nuclear weapons states taking those steps
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