December 30, 1997
Russian press continues to comment on commissioning of new land based
"Topol-M" ICBM.
The voting on START-2 ratification in the Russian parliament may happen to be at the same time, when the U.S. Congress will vote on NATO expansion, cautions Alla Yaroshinskaya (NATO and Nuclear Weapons, NVO-NG, December 24, 1997, p.5).
Current utility of nuclear weapons and problems of disarmament are discussed by V.S. Belous in Nuclear Weapons in the Eve of XXI Century, (Obozrevatel-Observer , # 12, 1997, pp. 39-44).
December 19, 1997
The section Hot on the Traces...
is updated (The State Duma debates on Yeltsin's Stockholm initiatives,
discussion of president Clinton's directive on strategic doctrine etc.).
Today's Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye has published an interview with CinC of the Strategic Missile Forces Vladimir Yakovlev (Igor Korotchenko, "We Keep Our Fighting Potential at a High Level", NVO-NG , # 46, December 19-25, 1997)
Reuters reports, that Primakov hopes, that START-2 Treaty will be ratified in 1998 (Primakov Sees START Ratification Next Year, Russia Today, December 18, 1997).
Commenting recent President Clinton's remarks about a possible meeting with the Russian President in Moscow (Excerpts of President Clinton's News Conference, The Washington Post, Wednesday, December 17, 1997; Page A20) Gennady Seleznyov claimed, that if the U.S. President "will press on the Duma", the date of START-2 ratification will be "never set up". He noted, that, the U.S. "is the power pretending to rule the world today". That is why, he said, "we fight with such a mono polarity of the world" (Gennady Seleznyov: The Date for START-2 Ratification by the State Duma Was Not Set Up Yet ,-in Russian (RIA-Novosti, December 18, 1997).
The CinC of the Strategic Missile Forces Vladimir Yakovlev thinks, that the early ratification of START-2 "calls for a lot of work to substantiate its economically". Strategic Rocket Forces Plan no Major Restructuring until 2001, says their CinC Vladimir Yakovlev (RIA-Novosti, December 17, 1997).
In Russian newspapers:
December 16, 1997
Clinton's directive on nuclear strategy continues
to be discussed in Hot on the Traces...
section.
December 11, 1997
Kenneth Luongo, a Senior Visiting Fellow at Princeton University and
the Executive Director of the Russian -American Nuclear Security Advisory
Council, presents his view on the U.S.-Russian nuclear security dialog:
The Evolving
U.S.-Russian Cooperative Nuclear Security Relationship (paper presented
at the USPID - VII International
Castiglioncello Conference on Nuclear
and Conventional Disarmament: Progress or Stalemate? in September,
1997)
Press comments on recent President Yeltsin's statements in Stockholm are on a new page entitled Hot on the Traces...
Washington Post reports about changes in U.S. nuclear strategy: Clinton Directive Changes Strategy On Nuclear Arms (by R. Jeffrey Smith, The Washington Post, December 7, 1997; Page A01). Russian press discusses these changes:
American press calls in question a possibility, that START-2 will be ratified soon:
December 4, 1997
Public press continues to comment President
Yeltsin's statements:
November 28, 1997
Though not new, but still interesting papers
at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace site:
Recent "Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye" provides arguments for integration of the three used to be separate military services (Military Space, Missile Defense and Strategic Missile Forces) in one (The First Steps of the Military Reform, by Lev Volkov, NG-NVO, # 43, November 21-27, 1997, p.1).
Some new details of the Primakov and Sergeyev's meeting with the State Duma members in September (Will the Duma Ratify START-2? The True Answer is Given by Communists, by Alexander Goltz, Yadernaya Bezopasnost, #4-5, September-October, 1997).
November 20, 1997
Colonel General Vladimir Yakovlev, CinC of the
Strategic Missile Forces, said in an interview, that recently unified
with the Military Space Forces the SMF "can carry out its mission in keeping
with the START 1 and START-2 treaties and the Helsinki accords signed by
the Presidents of Russia and the U.S. for a period until 2005-2007." However,
he pointed out, the service life of 58% of strategic missiles and 68% of
military satellites has extended (The First Step Of The Military Reform
Has Strengthened Russia's Nuclear Missile Shield, by Viktor Litovkin, Izvestiya,
November 19, 1997, p.2; Russia's "Nuclear Shield" Becomes Decrepit, But
Its Effectiveness Grows Impetuously, byAlexander Koretskii, Segodnya,
November 19, 1997, p.3).
In Arms Control Letters Section PIR Center presents a paper START Stands No Chance of Ratification This Fall and Greater Chance in Spring by Ivan Safranchuk.
November 19, 1997
Chicago Tribune urges Russian Duma not
to waste time before ratifying START-2 Treaty in yesterday's
issue.
Though not new, but still interesting:
AP reports, that next month, the first "Topol-M" will be put on combat duty with the strategic missile base in Tatischevo, near Volga river.
Cathleen Fisher discusses the challenges of building a multilateral regime for further nuclear disarmament in a report presented at VII-th International Castoglioncello Conference Nuclear and Conventional Disarmament: Progress or Stalemate?
November 14, 1997
Discussion on the roles for nuclear weapons continues
on the pages of today's "Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye". Robert
McNamara suggests that the nuclear
states should give up nuclear weapons (Return
to Nuclear Free World is Necessary - in Russian, NG-NVO,
# 42, November 14-20,1997, p.1). Makhmut Gareyev
thinks, that such a world would be a dangerous one (Nuclear Weapons
and Russia's Security, NG-NVO,
# 42, November14-20,1997, p.4).
By the way, an electronic conference: "Deterring the Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat: What Role for Nuclear Weapons?" took place on October 20- November 3, 1997. A special report on this subject was prepared by Dr. Victor A. Utgoff.
On November 12, The Washington Post published a paper by the U.S. scientists, who call the U.S. and Russia for reciprocal unilateral de-alerting actions.
November 5, 1997
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