George Perkovich
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Russia Submits Plan For Weapons Seizure in Syria
Russia has submitted a plan for chemical weapons seizure in Syria.
Source: BBC World News
Speaking on BBC World News, Carnegie's George Perkovich discussed the proposal to seize chemical weapons from Syria and place them under international control. The Russian proposal could have significant value, said Perkovich, since the reason President Obama was considering the use of force in the first place was to deter the Assad government from using chemical weapons in the future.
"With the announcement of this plan," said Perkovich, "you have Russia's prestige associated with the issue of chemical weapons and it becomes that much harder for the Assad government to use these weapons again, so already I think a deterrent against future use is starting to be established."
"Furthermore," added Perkovich, "the Russian interest and the international support for it begins to create a precedent that can be very useful in the area of chemical, biological weapons, and the precedent is 'if you use these weapons you will lose them,' so 'use them and lose them.'"
About the Author
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.
- How to Assess Nuclear ‘Threats’ in the Twenty-First CenturyPaper
- “A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear TriggerCommentary
George Perkovich
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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