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What was new on START Web site?

April, 2001

April 29, 2001
"...Today's Russian stand on missile defense and strategic arms reductions issues not only can not prevent US NMD deployment, but will also very likely result in that Moscow won't be able to count on preservation of its equal status in the strategic arms reductions process even for appearance only... In this situtation, the best that Russia can do is to try to minimize consequences of the possible US withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty, and to do everything possible to prevent complete deployment of the US missile defenses even if the ABM Treaty is terminated. Current policy of tying arms reduction issues up to ABM problems has to be revised as the first step in this direction..." (Russian Policy Toward Ballistic Missile Defenses Needs To Be Reassessed, - in Russian, by Pavel Podvig, April 28, 2001).

On April 23, in Moscow, consultations took place between experts of Russia and NATO on the problems of the nonproliferation of WMD and their means of delivery. The main attention was devoted to questions of nonproliferation of missiles and missile technologies. According to Russian MFA Press Release, The Russian side showed in a well-reasoned way the absence of changes in the strategic situation that would justify deployment of missile defense systems for the territory of a country, prohibited by the 1972 ABM Treaty, (Russian MFA Press Release, April 23, 2001)

On Russian stand on missile defenses see also:

President Bush plans a major speech next week in which he will announce plans for a missile defense system but try to reassure allies by tying the shield's deployment to reductions in the U.S. nuclear arsenal:

On the prospective US strategic nuclear forces see also:

"We have seen that the United States want only bombed Yugoslavia and that Yugoslavia had no means to retaliate," China's top arms control official, Sha Zukang, said in an interview. "Once the United States believes it has both a strong spear and a strong shield, it could lead them to conclude that nobody can harm the United States and they can harm anyone they like anywhere in the world. There could be many more bombings like what happened in Kosovo.": China Looks to Foil U.S. Missile Defense System, (by Michael R. Gordon, The New York Times, April 29, 2001)

American experts on European and Asian views on NMD:

Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov has been appointed as Commander of the strategic missile force by presidential decree

"...The more resources are provided to forces intended for operation in local conflicts that are likely to happen in short-term prospective, the less will stay for the forces intended to repel regional threats (and for Strategic nuclear forces), and the lower will be the "nuclear threshold" should the threat emerge, although its likelihood is much lower and belongs to medium- and long-term forecasting..." (What Wars Can Russia Afford?, - in Russian, by Alexei Arbatov and Pyotr Romashkin, NVO NG, N 15, April 27, 2001).

Arguments of advocates of development of low-yield nuclear weapons are false, believes Dr. Robert W. Nelson, an expert with Federation of American Scientists: Exploding the Myth About Low-Yield, Earth Penetrating Nuclear Weapons, (Robert Nelson, Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers Issue Brief, April 17, 2001)

Russian Nuclear Society appeals to the president to keep the Ministry of atomic energy undivided: Address to President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, - in Russian, (Wek, N 17, April 27, 2001)

An analysis of the US Budget requests for US-Russian cooperation in nuclear security see in Analysis of the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Requests for U.S.-Former Soviet Union Nuclear Security: Department of Energy Programs, (by William Hoehn, Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council, April 18, 2001)

Exsperts on weapon-grade plutonium disposal:

Duma nears third reading of a set of controversial bills allowing the import and storage of spent nuclear fuel:

Recent issue of Yadernaya Bezopasnost' (N 46-47, March-April, 2001) runs (all in Russian, Summary in English available):

At the Russian START Forum: US NMD deployment, and other topics.

April 22, 2001.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2001 Interfax news agency held a presentation of Russia on the World Arms Market, (by Boris Kuzyk, Nikolai Novichkov, Vladimir Shvarev, Marat Kenzhetayev and Alexander Simakov, Moscow, 2001, 792 pp. Publ. Military Parade Ltd). This book co-authored by our Center's affiliate Marat Kenzhetayev. See also an interview with Boris Kuzyk, General Director of NPK Holding, in Russian (by Vladimir Solovyev, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 17, 2001).

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said he was not optimistic about the prospects of U.S.-Russian dialogue over Washington's proposed national missile defense (NMD): Russia Defense Minister Downbeat on NMD Talks, (by Reuters, Russia Today, April 18, 2001)

Alexander Yakovenko, an official spokesman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented on the outcome International conference "Outer Space Without Weapons -- an Arena for Peaceful Cooperation in the 21 Century": Space Without Weapons, - in Russian, (by Ksenia Fokina, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 20, 2001) See also: Russia Wants to Tighten Ban on Arms in Space, (by Reuters, Russia Today, April 19, 2001)

Top officials at U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories are concerned that current tensions between Washington and Moscow are starting to harm joint programs to reduce nuclear weapons and secure nuclear materials in Russia: U.S.-Russia Nuclear Programs on Edge, (by Walter Pincus, The Washigton Post, Saturday, April 14, 2001; Page A13). See also: US reviewing aid for non-proliferation programs in Russia, (by Vladislav Nikiforov, Bellona, April 17, 2001)

Russia's State Duma ratified Wednesday the Open Skies Treaty on unarmed military observation flights over signatory nations: Russian Lower House Ratifies Open Skies Treaty, (by Agence France Presse, Russia Today, April 19, 2001)

Federation of American Scientists published a Public Interest Report arguing against developing of a new generation of precision low-yield nuclear weapons aimed at underground targets: Low-Yield Earth-Penetrating Nuclear Weapons, (by Robert W. Nelson, FAS Public Interest Report, January/February 2001, Volume 54, Number 1):

The West is ready to offer Russia $600 million on disposition of surplus weapon-grade plutonium appeared because of implementation of the US-Russian nuclear arms reduction treaties. However, Russia won't be able to process weapon-grade plutonium unless the necessary $2 billion are raised: Business on Plutonium, - in Russian, (by Mikhail Kozyrev, Vedomosti, April 17, 2001)

Russian State Duma on Wednesday passed in the second reading a set of highly controversial bills allowing the import and storage of spent nuclear fuel:

At the Russian START Forum: nuclear weapons in space, counter-force potential of precision-guided munitions, and other topics.

April 15, 2001
On Tuesday, April 10, 2001, Carnegie Moscow Center held a seminar on "New Issues in the U.S.-Russian Dialogue: Confidence-Building During Unilateral Strategic Arms Reduction." Rose Gottemoeller, former deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation in the U.S. Department of Energy, spoke on the prospects of unilateral nuclear reductions and on confidence-building measures aimed to ensure irreversibility of the process. On the same subject, see Gennady Khromov's exclusive comment New Approaches to Arms Control or an Echo of Election Rhetorics? (in Russian).

Recent issue of Yadernaya Bezopasnost' (N 44-45, January-February, 2001) runs Precision-Guided Weapons and START-3. How Precision-Guided Weapons Affect Strategic Balance (in Russian) -- an article by Eugene Miasnikov, Editor of START Web-Site. See also brochure Precision-Guided Weapons and Strategic Balance (in Russian) published in November, 2000.

Among other articles published in the issue (all in Russian, Summary in English available):

The discussion on future of US-Russian relations provoked by Thomas Graham's article is continued in Moscow asks questions from Washington, - in Russian, (by Dmitri Gornostayev, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, April 13, 2001)

Speaking at the International Conference "Outer Space Without Weapons - An Arena for Peaceful Cooperation in the 21st Century", Georgy Mamedov, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs called for the use of the outer space in the interests of international peace and security, further development of international coopertion:

Vladimir Kryazhev, Vice-Admiral, Ret., speaks on Russian reciprocal measures in return to US's NMD deployment: To Make a Nuclear «Umbrella» is More Expensive than to Make a Hole in It, - In Russian, (by Igor Yavlinsky and Andrey Baranov, Komsomolskaya Pravda, April 12, 2001)

Experts discuss the idea of missile defense for Europe:

Senator Joseph Biden and the Pentagon’s former head of Testing and Evaluation Philip E. Coyle on the current status of the NMD deployment programs: No Inevitability with National Missile Defense, (Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers Issue Brief, April 6, 2001)

The MOU exchange data on the deployed strategic offensive arms of the parties to the START I Treaty, as of January 31, 2001, are published: START I Aggregate Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms, (Bureau of Arms Control, Washington, DC, April 1, 2001)

US Senate approved Warner-Domenici amendment that recommends adding $900 million to the president's budget requests for Department of Energy defense programs. The amendment allows for additional funds for stockpile stewardship and DOE's nonproliferation programs, including cooperation with Russian Minatom. Earlier Bush administration proposed to cut these programs by $100 million.

GAO published a report on the status of the DOE and Minatom cooperative programs on the security of Russian nuclear materials: Nuclear Nonproliferation: Security of Russia's Nuclear Material Improving; Further Enhancements Needed, (Government Accounting Office (GAO) Report, March 2001)

April issue of Arms Control Today includes:

Russian Retired Vice-Admiral blames the United States for refusing to negotiate an agreement to avoid undersea submarine accidents: Dangerous Tacks, - in Russian, (by Yuri Bystrov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 13, 2001)

Newly appointed Minister of Atomic Energy of Russia Andrey Rumyantsev backs draft bills on import of spent nuclear fuel:

At the Russian START Forum: nuclear weapons in space, counter-force potential of precision-guided munitions, and other topics.

April 5, 2001
Thomas Graham's article Questions from Washington: Does Russia Have Sufficient Confidence in its Own Strength to Engage the US Constructively?, - in Russian, (March 21, 2001, p.1,8) provoked a lively discussion in Nezavisimaya Gazeta:

In his interview for The Washington Post, Pavel Podvig, an expert with our Center, speaking on the Russian proposal on European Missile Defense System, said: "It's a very clumsy attempt to find a compromise, and not very successful in my view... But still, it is very clear that this is part of the message that Putin is sending: 'We do want to be together with the West, with NATO and even with the United States'", (Russia's Skeletal Missile Plan, by Peter Baker, The Washington Post, Tuesday, April 3, 2001; Page A12). See also Moscow Builds Missile Defense for Europe, - in Russian, (by Igor Korotchenko, NVO-NG, March 23, 2001)

Building and maintaining all the major US missile-defense programs will cost far in excess of $100 billion, according to the latest Pentagon figures. However, administration's determination to build the missile shield is yet to be supported by budgetary appropriations:

While validating the need for NMD deployment by missile threats from "rogue" states, the US has no plans to solve the problem by diplomatic means:

A move in the House to increase spending on DOE's nuclear nonproliferation programs by $500 million a year for 10 years failed last week. The Bush administration began a review of these programs, among which are those that pay for reducing Russia's arsenal of leftover cold-war weapons.:

Rationale and Requirements for U.S. Nuclear Forces and Arms Control, a study by National Institute for Public Policy still draws attention in the media:

Comments on the appointment of a new Minister of Atomic Energy in Russia:

Plans to produce MOX fuel in Zheleznogorsk: School of survival for Atomgrad, - in Russian (by Yuri Chuvashev, NG-Regiony, March 27, 2001, p.14)

Opponents who have been fiercely protesting a plan to import 20,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel to Russia won a reprieve Thursday when the State Duma decided to delay a vote on the bill until at least early April. However, even if the plan becomes law, external pressure from the United States may still be able to thwart it by slashing its list of potential clients, the U.S. could even veto Russia's storage of the spent fuel if it deems safety standards insufficient:

Accusing Russia of selling "nuclear secrets", Washington fails to provide any evidence:

At the Russian START Forum: prospects of renewal of the B-2 strategic bomber production, of the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and other topics.

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