Source: NHK WORLD
It has been a year since Barack Obama outlined his vision of a nuclear-free world. In the next three months, two major nuclear-related conferences will be held: the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., in March, and the NPT Review Conference in New York in May. The Japanese TV channel NHK WORLD interviewed Dmitri Trenin on the current state of nuclear disarmament.
Trenin argues that the Russian leadership regards Obama’s statement as a visionary one, since a nuclear-free world remains a distant goal. The main focus of the Russian government is the practical steps needed to achieve this aim. Trenin expects that an agreement to replace START I will be signed shortly, though the real deadline is the NPT Review Conference in May. He expressed optimism, noting that the United States and Russia share strategic views on arms control.
Ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is of crucial importance, Trenin concluded, as is broadening the circle of nuclear powers engaged in the disarmament process.
