Source: PRI's The World
The landmark treaty to slash the Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals by a third is a concrete result of the U.S.-Russian relations reset under the Obama administration. In an interview on PRI’s The World, Dmitri Trenin discussed the new START agreement and the political realities that surround it.
Unlike the United States, Russian conventional military is rather outdated; therefore Russia is extremely dependent upon its nuclear arsenals, explains Trenin. However, the Russian leadership cannot afford an adverse relationship with the United States, which it depends on for resources for economic and technological modernization.
The treaty does not significantly change the strategic environment between the countries, concludes Trenin. That environment is still based on the doctrine of mutual assured destruction. Nevertheless, this agreement provides both parties with a political advantages, including a better global image and stronger grounds for negotiating nuclear issues such as Iran.
