On Wednesday a Russian General was reported stating that Russia did not desire to see either the US or Russia have nuclear warheads below 1,500. This is an interesting development considering Obama’s goals for complete global disarmament. General Nikolai Solovtsov clarified to state, “Our position is that we must not go below 1,500 warheads . . . but the decision is up to the country’s political leadership.” At the moment, the US and Russia are engaged in talks for drafting a remake of the cold war era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or START. The START treaty is set to expire in December meaning there is little time to get a new treaty approved and passed.
Obama has made progress so far in his plans for a nuclear free world. Thus far, Russian leaders have agreed to make cuts provided that certain stipulations are met. Chief among the stipulations is a clause that he US must abandon their nuclear missile shield in Europe. Russia believes that such a shield would give the US an unfair military advantage and make them unaccountable to any other military force. However the United States continually argues that the shield is not for Russia’s sake rather for dangerous nations such as Iran. However lets be real – we still don’t trust Russia and Russia still doesn’t trust us. It has been less than two decades since the end of the cold war. Obviously there is still some animosity and distrust between the two nations. To pretend otherwise is just that, pretending.
The last nuclear arms reduction treaty called for no more than 2,200 warheads for either government.
