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What was new on START Web site?

January, 2001

January 31, 2001
In an exclusive comment for the START web site "Russia to Lose Its Nuclear Status" Colonel Pyotr Romashkin discusses the recent presidential decree on reforming the Russian Rocket Forces. See also:

Experts continue the discussion on role of Russian nuclear weapons:

President Bush confirmed that he intended to keep his campaign pledge to reduce the nation's nuclear weapons as he moved ahead with construction of a defense against ballistic missiles:

President Putin said, that a complex and delicate work with Bush administration lies ahead on ABM preservation. He expressed a hope for a constructive dialog.

See also on Russian initiative in creation of global defense from limited nuclear strikes: Multinational Missile Defense As An Element of Globalism, - in Russian, (by O. Matveyev, Obozrevatel'-Observer, N 12, 2000) and on history of Moscow ABM system deployment: There Is No Analog Till Now, - in Russian, (by Oleg Golubev, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, January 26, 2001)

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted an existence of a "message" of the President of Russia to the new United States President setting out Moscow's "secret approaches" to START-ABM problems, including "proposals" for talks to modify the ABM Treaty of 1972:

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies assertions expressed in the interview of Robert T. Grey, the United States Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), published in the December issue of Arms Control Today: Statement by Alexander Yakovenko, the official spokesman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (January 29, 2001)

Arms control experts discuss the future of U.S.-Russian cooperation on non-proliferation: U.S.-Russian Non-proliferation Cooperation: Setting Priorities for the Future, (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Event, Summary of presentations, January 24, 2001)

Russia plans to build 40 nuclear reactors by 2020 to prevent a potential "energy crisis" deputy atomic energy minister Boulat Nigmatulin announced Monday: Russia Plans to Build 40 Nuclear Reactors by 2020, (by Agence France Presse, Russia Today, January 31, 2001)

According to many Russian experts, Russia is not ready yet to import spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing:

At the Russian START Forum: on an adequate Russian response to NMD deployment and other issues.

January 23, 2001
Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye published an article on current status, problems and future of the Strategic Rocket Forces development: A Pace of Poplar Forest's Growth Slowed Down, - in Russian, (by Sergei Sokut, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, January 19, 2001). See also:

Moscow and Kiev are preparing to renew a joint production of heavy ICBMs: Russian Genera Is A Hostage Of "Kuchmagate", - in Russian, (by Andrei Korbut, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, January 19, 2001)

President Bush reiterated his commitment to the NMD deployment. Russian press comments remarks of key officials of the new U.S. administration on NMD and future of U.S. - Russian relations:

"...An early announcement (of NMD deployment - E.M.) by the new president would be a dramatic signal that the Cold War policy of mutual assured destruction is dead and a new era is beginning. Such a bold step would immediately change the debate and mark Mr. Bush as a man of action. Russia and China would stop complaining and start negotiating to get the best deal they can. The allies would stop whining and scramble to assure that they, too, will be defended...", (Missile Defense Urgency, by James Hackett, The Washington Times, January 23, 2001)

The Russian official attitude remains unchanged: Russia is ready to accept further limits to its missile arsenal provided the U.S. abides to the ABM Treaty

Russia is gratified by the news that on January 11, 2001, the Supreme Rada of Ukraine ratified the Memorandum of Understanding relating to the Soviet-American Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems that defines Ukraine as a successor state under the Treaty (Russian MFA Official Statement, January 15, 2001)

Many Russian experts suggest, that Russia should soften its attitude toward the ABM Treaty modification as deployment of the U.S. national missile defense becomes inevitable. Some representatives of the military industrial complex propose deployment of a Russian missile defense.

French Defense Minister Alain Richard said Paris and Moscow were committed to a major 1972 disarmament treaty and urged Washington to clarify its proposals for a missile defense system.

In the latest issue of Arms Control Today (January-February 2001:

Academician Viktor Mikhailov, former Russian Minister of Nuclear Energy (1992-1998) shares his views on the Russian nuclear policy in an interview to Wek weekly: Nuclear Interests of "Putin's Doctrine", (by Gennadi Voskresenski, Wek, N 3, January 19, 2001)

Nezavisimaya Gazeta comments on recent Russian-Azerbaijan agreements on the early warning radar at Gabala: Status of the Radar at Gabala Remains Undefined, - in Russian, (by Igor Korotchenko, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, January 19, 2001)

Russian officials consider ungrounded the claims on alleged deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad Region: A Dish for a Second Warming-Up, - in Russian, (by Viktor Litovkin, Obschaya Gazeta, January 18, 2001)

The report prepared by the Baker-Cutler panel, is available now on-line: A Report Card on the Department of Energy's Nonproliferation Programs with Russia, (Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, U.S. DOE, January 10, 2001)

The recovered remnants of the "Kursk" torpedo tube irrefutably prove, that the submarine sank because of an explosion of the so called "practical" torpedo:

USEC Inc , a seller of uranium fuel services for commercial power plants, was permitted to pursue a deal with Russia to import uranium for fuel:

Yevgeni Adamov suggests that efficiency of "YeES Rossii" Joint Stock Company with the one of nuclear powered stations should be compared: Minister of Nuclear Energy Yevgeni Adamov: "Let's Compete", (by Mikhail Kozyrev, Vedomosti, January 17, 2000)

Russian public continues discussion on proposed changes in the legislation to allow radioactive waste imports:

In the recent issue of Yadernaya Bezopasnost' (November-December, 2000):

At the Russian START Forum: on a possibility of U.S.-Russian cooperation in development of ballistic missile defenses and other issues.

January 13, 2001
President Vladimir Putin has dismissed reports that Russia may have deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, the Russian Baltic enclave. President Aleksander Kwasniewski renewed Polish calls for Russia to allow international inspections in Kaliningrad:

Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye comments on mutual U.S. and Russian accusations in relation with TNWs and START I violation: A Hostile Political Sign, - in Russian, (by Vadim Solovyov, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, January 12, 2001)

"...There is no sense in negotiating further strategic reductions. Weakness of the Russian attitude at negotiations can be explained mainly by internal economical factors...", (A Range of Parity. STARt III Treaty - Is There Need For It?, - in Russian, by Valentin Popov, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, January 12, 2001)

China and Russia are negotiating their first political treaty since an ill-fated peace and friendship pact at the outset of the Cold War, united this time by a desire to counter U.S. preeminence in world affairs and oppose U.S. proposals for building a missile defense shield, The Washington Post reports: Beijing And Moscow To Sign Pact. Stronger Ties Sought To Check U.S. Influence, (by John Pomfret, The Washington Post, Saturday, January 13, 2001; Page A01). See also: China Calls on U.S. to Scrap Missile Shield Plans, (by Reuters, Russia Today, January 12, 2001)

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will travel to Washington as soon as possible for talks on issues including the development of a disputed missile defense system backed by President-elect Bush: Germany, U.S. To Discuss Missiles, (by The Associated Press, Friday, January 12, 2001; 9:12 AM)

Rumsfeld has been a leading advocate of NMD in the past. There is no reason to believe that he will alter that position. Just recently, a commission led by Rumsfeld said, that the United States must improve its ability to defend its satellites and other critical space systems in order to avoid a surprise attack with the potential to become a "space Pearl Harbor":

Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, supporting a decade of questions about the Patriot missile's performance, said Raytheon Co.'s famous antimissile system failed to work in the Persian Gulf War: The Patriot Gulf missile 'didn't work', (by John Aloysius Farrell, Boston Globe, January 13, 2001)

The Russian President never received "The Plan for build-up and development of the Armed Forces for 2001-2005" from the Ministry of Defense, which was to be signed by Vladimir Putin in early December. In spite of Security Council decisions and tough requirements of the Supreme Commander, Marshal Igor Sergeyev refused to approve the draft, prepared at the General Staff. Army General Anatoli Kvashnin, on the other hand, has not approved another draft, prepared under the supervision of the Defense Minister: Bush Corrected Kvashnin, - in Russian, (by Viktor Litovkin, Obschaya Gazeta, January 11, 2001)

A blue-ribbon task force headed by two elder statesmen, Republican Howard H. Baker Jr. and Democrat Lloyd N. Cutler, recommended that the United States spend up to $30 billion over the next eight to 10 years to improve security over Russia's nuclear stockpile.

A new report by the General Accounting Office says a program to refurbish and extend the life of the nation's aging nuclear warheads is behind its original schedule, 70 percent over budget and plagued by management difficulties (Effort on Missile Upkeep Falters, Report Finds, by James Glanz, The New York Times, January 13, 2001)

At the request of President Clinton, Gen. John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, proposed a set of practical steps that the next administration could take to address the Senate's concerns about the treaty and make it possible for George W. Bush to resubmit it for a successful ratification vote in the near future:

CNN founder Ted Turner and former senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) formally unveiled plans for a Washington-based nonprofit organization 'Nuclear Threat Initiative' that will focus on safeguarding nuclear weapons and fissile materials in the former Soviet Union. Turner, said he would give $250 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative over the next five years.

Academician Igor Spasski, the General Designer of the "Rubin" Design Bureau made publicly a statement on reasons for "Kursk" accident. His statement allows to assume that in fact the dominating version in the governmental investigation commission is a self-ignition and subsequent detonation of the submarine's on-board ammunition: A Turning Point in Solution of the Enigma of "Kursk's" Tragedy, - in Russian, (by Vadim Solovyov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, January 12, 2001)

Russia and the West have not yet started implementation of the agreement on elimination of plutonium released from weapons: International Disagreements, - in Russian, (by Yekaterina Kaz, Segodnya, January 12, 2001)

Alarmed by the rapid development of China's nuclear program in the early 1960's, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations considered bombing targets there and killing the experts, as well as supplying India with nuclear weapons, recently declassified documents show (60's Administrations Considered Bombing Nuclear Sites in China, by The Associated Press, The New York Times, January 13, 2001)

At the Russian START Forum: on a possibility of U.S.-Russian cooperation in development of ballistic missile defenses and other issues

January 5, 2001
Moscow will respond to any unilateral move by the incoming U.S. administration to deploy a national missile defense shield without Russia's consent, the head of the country's nuclear rocket force said recently. Eugene Miasnikov, editor of the START Web site, commented on the situation with the ABM Treaty in his interview to Vesti.Ru: (Our Answer to Bush, - in Russian, by Ol'ga Shorina, Vesti.Ru, December 26, 2000). See also:

On Thursday Russia's foreign ministry accused the United States of breaching the START-1 nuclear disarmament treaty by destroying only one of the three stages of its MX ballistic missiles (Russian MFA Official Statement, January 4, 2001). See also Ivan Sidorov's paper How Responsible Are the Sides in Implementing the START I Treaty? (in Russian), Gennadi Khromov exclusive comment on "Hera" MRBM and a comment of our Center's experts on upload potential of "ÌÕ" ICBM.

Russia denied a U.S. newspaper report that it was deploying tactical nuclear weapons in its Kaliningrad enclave on the Baltic Sea in a bid to step up military pressure on NATO. Poland called on Thursday for an international inspection of Russian arms stores in the Kaliningrad enclave:

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Saturday that Moscow would move quickly to establish a "serious dialogue" with the incoming administration of U.S. president-elect George W. Bush on missile defense:

In picking his defense secretary, President-elect George W. Bush may have nudged Washington toward what could be a collision with Russia, China and U.S. allies over the thorny issue of national missile defense:

On the eve of the New Year Russia deployed a new group of Topol-M missiles:

Only 26 of the originally deployed 176 ICBMs remain at Ukraine's soil. Colonel-General Vladimir Mikhtyuk, Commander of the 43-d Missile Army tells about START I implementation: Farewell to Arms, - in Russian, (by M. Romantsov, Segodnya, December 23, 2000)

In the December's issue of Arms Control Today:

In the recent issue of the The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (January - February, 2001):

In the latest issue of Yadernoye Rasprostraneniye (July-September, 2000), published by the Moscow Carnegie Center:

A Russian-American disarmament agreement to take 68 tons of plutonium out of nuclear weapons could have the unintended effect of increasing the chance of nuclear proliferation, according to a report by an independent researcher: Plutonium Pact With Russia Could Backfire, Critic Says, (by Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times, January 4, 2000).

A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who conducted a comprehensive study of the nuclear test ban treaty at the request of President Clinton has concluded that the United States must ratify it in order to mount an effective campaign against the spread of nuclear weapons: Report to Clinton Asks U.S. to Ratify Test-Ban Treaty, (by Michael Gordon, The New York Times, January 5, 2001)

Experts continue discussion on the decision of the Russian State Duma to allow imports of spent nuclear fuel:

Over 47,000 visitors made more than 240,000 requests of the START Web Site pages in 2000. The news page was the most popular one (17,400 requests). The most frequently visited publications in English include:

The most frequently visited publications in Russian can be found on the corresponding Russian page. See also statistics of the previous year.

At the Russian START Forum: on deployment of TNWs in the Kaliningrad Region, US-Russian strategic parity, feasibility of deployment of ballistic missiles at sea bed and other issues.

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