News
New bilateral agreement between the USA and Russia to reduce nuclear weapons
The USA and the Russian Federation signed an agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals on 8 April. The new agreement replaces the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed in 1991. Despite being insufficient, this reduction covers around 30% of the countries' respective arsenals. It will be significant if this step forward is complemented by other decisions, such as complying with the agreement prohibiting nuclear testing. Meanwhile, ratification of the treaty may be difficult, especially on the North American side, taking into account the political influence of the military-industrial complex.
The agreement aims to reduce the number of nuclear warheads possessed by each country to a maximum of 1,550. Furthermore, the two countries may only have 800 "strategic vectors", which are the devices enabling launches over long distances, such as intercontinental missiles, submarines and strategic bombers. Most of these devices - around 700 - may be deployed platforms. The agreement is a good prelude to the review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Rafael Grasa, the ICIP President, was interviewed on Spain's TV3 and TVE television channels about the agreement:
Website link to the TVE interview. 24h channel
Website link to the TV3 interview. 3/24 channel