Source: NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook

A new U.S.-Russian treaty to reduce nuclear arsenals is scheduled to be signed on April 8 in Prague. It will replace the START agreement, which expired in December. Dmitri Trenin explains that the new treaty is a result of a new stage in U.S.-Russian relations and its symbolic significance is even more important than the number of nuclear weapons it cuts.

During the negotiations, asymmetries between the two powers caused significant tension. Russia was the weaker party, but it insisted on being treated as though it were in an equal position with the United States. This is a sensitive issue for the Russian leadership, as nuclear weapons are regarded as a guarantee that the country remains strategically independent. However, Trenin points out, Russia had a tactical advantage, since it was important to U.S. President Obama to conclude the treaty before the NPT Review Conference in May 2010.

This new stage in U.S.-Russian relations affects more than nuclear disarmament negotiations. Trenin suggests that Russia is likely to agree to a new package of sanctions against Iran, even though the Russian government doubts that sanctions alone will produce significant results. He added that the Russian authorities believe that politically instable Pakistan is the greater threat to the security and the stability of the region than Iran and its nuclear ambitions.