In the 80s, promised nuclear-free world, but Putin’s Russia has decided otherwise: “destroyed all prospects of Gorbachev and Reagan”

On 29 and 30 may at the conference in Helsinki, NATO and partner countries of the Alliance discussed the problems concerning the use of weapons of mass destruction. One of the issues of the conference was the progress of the disarmament process.

Specialist defence Professor Stefan Forss (Stefan Forss) worry about the prospects for nuclear disarmament.

He says the new Russian projects in the nuclear weapons lead to the fact that the Treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range is threatened. This Treaty drastically limited the number of nuclear weapons in Europe.

The signing of this agreement was preceded by demonstrations and disputes about the so-called “irorceach” as NATO in 1979 decided on the deployment in Europe of its medium-range missiles Pershing II and cruise missiles Gryphon.

For the Soviet Union, these missiles represented a major threat. Soviet missiles RSD-10 was for Western Europe is also one of the symbols of the nuclear threat.

Therefore, the conclusion in 1987 of the Treaty on the prohibition of the use of intermediate and short-range was a victory for disarmament and contributed to the détente between East and West.

The agreement was signed in December 1987 in Washington at the White house by U.S. President Ronald Reagan (Ronald Reagan) and the leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Treaty forbade the use of short-range missiles (500 to 1 thousand kilometers) and medium-range missiles (from 1 thousand to 5,5 thousand kilometers).

After signing the agreement, the Soviet Union destroyed 1846 missiles, and the U.S. — 846. The imbalance caused the disapproval.

“We know that already then the Russian generals accused Gorbachev of treason,” — says an expert on nuclear weapons Stefan Forss. During the period of contract, he worked as a project Manager on military technology and military control of the Finnish technical research centre VTT.

Further Forss also studied the issue of nuclear weapons. Coming in 2012 to retire, the Professor is still a Professor at the National defense University of Finland and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of military Sciences.

Russia squeezes its nuclear fist

According to Forssa, now Russia quickly makes up for the blow that was inflicted on the capacity of its nuclear weapons, the INF Treaty. In practice, this means that she has adopted or is developing missiles that was prohibited historic Treaty.

The US accuses Russia of violating the Treaty, because, according to the United States, Russia has adopted a cruise missile 9М729. Their range significantly exceeds contract limit of 500 kilometers.

In addition, Forss believes that the adoption of the other two types of missiles currently close to break the contract, and is in contradiction with the objectives of the INF Treaty.

In Forscom for the National defense University of Finland in 2012, the report States that, if a missile “Iskander-M” will be installed easy conventional warhead or a nuclear warhead, the missile’s range exceeds 200 kilometers allowed by the contract 500 kilometers. According to Forssa, many experts agree with him in this assessment.

The position of Russia is that of a ballistic missile system “Iskander” missiles and cruise missiles are not inconsistent with the INF Treaty, but it recognizes that their range is on the upper limit allowable contract range of 500 kilometers.

On the technical side of the contract violation did not occur, as at the moment cases launch at a distance exceeding 500 kilometres, were recorded.

Therefore, it is important that this year Russia announced that it would increase the range and accuracy of flight of the missile complex Iskander-M. the announcement was made to news Agency “Interfax”.

“An increase in flight range of the missile means in practice that Russia is going to formally withdraw from the INF Treaty. The flight range will increase if you use more efficient fuel, to improve the electronics and to reduce the weight. Military circles in Russia ten years ago, recognized that the flight range can reach 1 thousand kilometers,” says Forss.

In addition, in an article for the Royal Swedish Academy of military Sciences Forss writes that missile RS-26 Rubezh, which is officially considered strategic, in practice, turns into operational medium-range missiles, which the INF Treaty prohibits.

“Russia has refused nuclear disarmament”

In the United States and Russia is still a nuclear Arsenal that must be destroyed.

The US armed 1411 is deployed carriers of nuclear warheads, 820 warheads are in reserve. It is learned from data published by the Department of State’s Bureau of the US arms control in April of this year. In Russia, the figures are 1765 and 816.

The Treaty on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (start-III) limits the number of nuclear warheads to 1,550 units. Thus, the United States has reached the time specified in the contract volumes.

The boundary of performance of the agreement marked the year 2018. Russia still needs to reduce the arsenals of more than 200 nuclear warheads, while it is intensively engaged in upgrading its weapons.

According to estimates of the Stockholm Institute research problems of the world, USA still have 1,9 thousand deployed nuclear warheads and Russia — 1,8 thousand.

This figure included deployed in Europe, 180 tactical nuclear warheads, and, in addition, the United States has several hundred warheads stored in the country.

In Russia, in turn, the stock is almost 2 thousand nuclear warheads. If you count all the warheads that are awaiting destruction, their total number will reach 7 million units.

“During the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States continued to follow a policy of nuclear disarmament, while Russia is focused on modernization of its nuclear potential.”

In the spring of 2009 in his speech in Prague, President Obama stated that the US seeks to promote nuclear disarmament.

Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed in April 2010 the new start Treaty limiting deployed strategic nuclear warheads.

Soon after this, Russia’s stance has changed. The President of Russia was Vladimir Putin.

“Putin has destroyed the prospects for Gorbachev and Reagan. A nuclear-free world is no longer a priority for Russia,” says Forss.

Putin is not continued negotiations on disarmament, but on the contrary, engaged in the development of strategic weapons in the country.

Even earlier, in December 2008, former Russian defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that Russia wants to radically reduce their nuclear weapons, and committed to their modernization.

Frustrated Obama stated in 2013, nobody need wish for new negotiations on nuclear weapons. According to Forssa, Russia recognized at the diplomatic level that it is no longer bound by commitments to nuclear disarmament.

“This is confirmed by reliable sources at the diplomatic level,” says Forss.

The Professor believes that the United States is difficult to force Russia to sit at the negotiating table. Russia was able to modernize its weapons, while a large part of the US nuclear Arsenal is almost obsolete.

Thus, the balance of power is different from the one that was in 1980-ies. Then, negotiation was facilitated by the fact that both parties were significantly more nuclear weapons than at present, which they were willing to use against each other. In addition, the Soviet economy was in miserable condition.

It is not only about Putin’s Russia. The President of the United States Donald trump is currently not showing the same commitment to disarmament as its predecessor, rather the contrary.

In December, before taking office, trump wrote on Twitter that the United States needs to strengthen nuclear capability.

In addition, news Agency Reuters said in February that in response to the question of Putin on the extension of the contract start-III, trump said that this Treaty was one of the bad contracts signed by Obama, and that it meets the interests of Russia.

In February, trump once said in an interview with Reuters that the US can not lag behind from any country in the world in the power of nuclear weapons.

It seems that the audience in Helsinki specialists on disarmament is difficult to come up with something new that could contribute to the disarmament process.

ISIS is interested in chemical weapons

Major Ville Halonen (Ville Halonen), serving in the army staff of the defence forces of Finland, believes that the terrorist organization interested in the acquisition and use of chemical weapons. At the conference in Helsinki it was also about chemical weapons, which is weapons of mass destruction. Against him, the situation also became worse.

Chemical weapons are totally prohibited, and it may not be any one state.

“A far greater danger is that chemical weapons could fall into the hands of non-state organizations. Such terrorist organizations like ISIS (banned in Russia — approx. TRANS.) are interested in how to get this weapon. All the leading Nations operating in the framework of the Convention prohibiting chemical weapons”, — commented the mayor of the defence forces of Finland Ville Halonen.

According to major Halonen, earlier the terrorist organization has not used chemical weapons because he considered it too inhumane way to achieve their goals.

“But now the situation has changed. Now the use of chemical weapons is regarded as one of the possible ways in achieving the goal. For example, in Iraq and Syria were no limiting factors for its application”.

Almost all countries, 192 States have signed the Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. According to the Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW) and destroyed 94% of the world’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

“You can consider this information reliable. Chemical weapons were everywhere, all the Warsaw Pact countries, and many countries in NATO. In Western countries it is consumed in Russia is destroying it, although part of it still remains. In the United States, too, has chemical weapons,” says major Ville Halonen.

The last major operation of chemical weapons destruction was held in Syria in 2013-2016. After this, the country should not remain any chemical weapons.

But it is not. In a chemical attack, which in April 2017 targeted the city of Khan shaykhun, has documented the use of sarin gas or similar gas Zarin.

From chemical attack, the Commission of which I suspect the government of Syria, killing 87 civilians, including 31 children.

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