Russia

Photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting during G7 Summit on Osaka on June 28. Credit: Kremlin.ru

Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START

By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos

While Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China. But China continues to express its opposition to trilateral talks and has yet to respond to U.S. overtures to begin a bilateral strategic security dialogue.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 13 March 2020

Photo: Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, briefs the Security Council meeting on peace consolidation in West Africa and the Sahel. New York on 8 Jan 2020. Credit: UN

Russia Shares UN Concern About Rising Terrorism in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, (IDN) – UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, told the UN Security Council’s first formal meeting in 2020 that the West African region has experienced "a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets". These have "shaken public confidence" and the humanitarian consequences are alarming, he said.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 03 February 2020

Photo: Main Building of the Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. Courtesy of PFUR University.

A Renowned Russian University Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

MOSCOW (IDN) – If education is the ultimate gift one can give a child, then, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia has given that gift to more than 150,000 deserving young men and women from many countries around the world – who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive higher education — especially in a foreign country.

Besides, the university is characterised by a cooperative and friendly attitude — one of respect and mutual assistance. With multinational traditions and customs, cuisine, dancing and music — the whole world is in one Moscow street: the Miklukho-Maklaya Street.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Russia; 29 January 2020

Image credit: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Russia Exhorts US to Extend New START Without Preconditions

By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 January 2020

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses to the Federal Assembly on 15 January 2020. Credit: Kremlin website.

Putin Promises Incentives to Boost Russia’s Population

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – “We need to address large-scale social, economic and technological tasks facing the country more quickly and, without delay. Our society is clearly calling for change. People want development,” President Vladimir Putin said in his wide-ranging address on January 15 to the Federal Assembly at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, a few metres away from the Kremlin.

Putin emphasised that this year Russia will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – World War 2. He said: “For Russia, May 9 is the greatest and sacred holiday. We are proud of the generation of victors and honour their feat, and our memory is not only a tribute to our heroic past, but it also serves our future, inspires us and strengthens our unity.”

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 16 January 2020

Photo: John R. Bolton holds a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on 23 October 2018. CC BY 4.0

The Future of New START and NPT Hangs in the Balance

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in January/February 2020 issue of Arms Control Today.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – This year, the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the catastrophic atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the indispensable but imperfect nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 11 January 2020

Image: Post-Soviet states in English alphabetical order: Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. CC BY-SA 3.0

Putin Keen to Strengthen Ties with Former Soviet Republics

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to deepen and strengthen relations with the former Soviet republics, particularly those which initially formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and joined the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after the breakup in 1991. Russia was internationally recognized as the successor state to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics out of which 15 sovereign states emerged and re-emerged.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 05 January 2020

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov answers to questions in The Great Game show on Channel One Russia on December 22, 2019. Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Russia Urges U.S. to Agree to Extending New START

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – In a series of significant discussions and a special interview with Rossiya Segodnya, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated Russia’s plea for the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). President Vladimir Putin had clearly stated that “Russia is ready to extend it without any preconditions," he said. As for deadlines, Putin had emphasised that "Russia is willing to immediately, as soon as possible, before the year is out, renew this Treaty," he added.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 03 January 2020

Photo: More than 100 US-built missiles having the capability to strike Moscow with nuclear warheads were deployed in Italy and Turkey in 1961. In August 1963, the US joined the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in agreeing to ban nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, outer space, or under water, and places significant restrictions on detonating nuclear devices underground. The Limited Test Ban Treaty reflects concerns about the dangers of nuclear fallout. A high-speed “hotline” connecting the leaders of the Soviet and U.S. governments is established to mitigate the risk of accidental warfare. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Rising Concern in Russia About Spiralling Arms Race

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia is convinced that proliferation risks and threats that are rampant today can be eliminated by the strict observance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while respecting and ensuring the balance between its three components: nonproliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The NPT will be reviewed in May 2020 at an international conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov considers it crucial that the upcoming conference is held “as non-confrontationally as possible and not repeat the sad experience of the 2015 conference, when in fact, the participants refused to talk to each other and even to listen to each other, and each stated their position independently of what the others were saying”.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 18 December 2019

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with President Vladimir Putin. CC BY 4.0

NPT Review Conference Should Not Repeat the ‘Sad Experience’ of 2015

Viewpoint by Sergey Lavrov

The following are extensive excerpts from Russiaan Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian Federation in Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Context of Changes in the Global Security Architecture” Moscow, 8 November 2019.