US experts on the threat of a new nuclear race

Russia’s State Duma and Federation Council have unanimously backed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. US President Joe Biden called the Kremlin’s actions a “big mistake”.For their part, the experts interviewed by the Russian service media were divided in their opinions concerning this step. Some believe Putin’s decision will not have serious consequences, while others warn it could lead to a new arms race. Thus, an expert from the Hudson Institute Richard Weitz (Richard Weitz is a senior researcher and director of the Center for Politico-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute) recalled in an interview with the Russian service media that in August 2022 Russia had refused the United States to inspect their nuclear facilities. , claiming that due to Western sanctions, Russian inspectors could not obtain transit visas for visits to nuclear facilities in the United States.“The suspension of Russia’s participation will in no way affect the current situation. Since the start of the pandemic, inspections have been suspended by Russia and the United States. That is to say, Moscow’s position now is that it will not resume controls for a longer period. A much more alarming signal comes when President Putin says, they say, why do we need arms control when we are de facto at war… His whole speech (of Putin) was very negative, but I think the immediate effect is small, “- said Richard Weitz.In 2020, mutual inspections by the United States and the Russian Federation ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And 2 years later, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine. On January 31, 2023, the US State Department accused Russia of violating START-3. Putin’s move is directed specifically against the United States, says Alexander (Alex) Crowther is nonresident senior fellow of the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Professor of the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis.”Putin is trying to hit the United States in particular because we support Ukraine the most. He is desperately trying to harm the United States, but his arsenal for such actions is very limited. Thus, one of the tools of his set is the START-3 treaty. And Putin knows that this treaty is important for the control of nuclear weapons. And he uses it against us. But it will not lead to a nuclear arms race, because the last time the Russians participated in a nuclear arms race with us, it destroyed the Soviet Union. And so they know it’s a bad idea and Russia doesn’t have the money for it. They can’t even supply conventional weapons such as tanks and small arms to the army. They are not able to organize the work of their aviation. They should not get involved in a nuclear arms race,” the expert in an interview with a journalist from the Russian service Voi this of America. The Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty – START or START-3 – is the latest bilateral agreement in force between Russia and the United States aimed at further reducing mutually deployed arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons. The agreement obliges Washington and Moscow to reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 units. START provides for mutual inspections by the United States and the Russian Federation of military nuclear facilities on both sides for mutual control of nuclear weapons. On February 3, 2021, the United States and Russia agreed to extend the 2011 agreement for another five years, until February 5, 2026.Petr Topychkanov, a specialist in the study of weapons of mass destruction at the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (Petr Topychkanov, Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Program), did not rule out a rivalry in the field of nuclear weapons. But at the same time, he added that for Moscow, the arms race with Washington is an almost unbearable task, due to the economic sanctions imposed by Western partners in response to the aggression against Ukraine, and in the context of series of setbacks for Ukraine. the foreheads.“We are talking about a competition between the nuclear powers to strengthen their nuclear capabilities and their strategic capabilities. But we are unlikely to see parity or mirror solutions here. Countries have completely different financial and technical capacities. Especially in Russia, which is under sanctions. I’m not a fan of quoting Putin, but some time ago he himself said that we remember the lessons of the Cold War, we don’t want to be dragged into that race. Even last year showed that Russia does not have such budgets to increase the number of submarines and heavy bombers at a rapid pace.