Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present, and Future

treaty monitoring by prohibiting acts that could disrupt
national technical means of verification and by
mandating the continued exchange of some missile
testing telemetry.
NATO foreign ministers discussed the future of
the alliance’s TNWs at an April 22-23, 2010, informal
meeting in Tallinn, Estonia. The issue had become divisive
within the alliance as some governments were
pressing for unilaterally ending NATO nuclear sharing,
while others were insisting on retaining it. Although
not empowered to make conclusive decisions,
the foreign ministers nevertheless agreed on ”some
clear themes” to guide their approach to the TNW issue:
• NATO member states will not make “unilateral
moves” on nuclear weapons issues;
• Members would share the burdens of maintaining
a safe and credible nuclear deterrent;
• The alliance would balance maintaining a credible
nuclear deterrent with the need to contribute
to general arms control and disarmament. 67
According to NATO Spokesman James Appathurai,
the foreign ministers did indicate one way in which
NATO could reduce its TNWs—if Russia agreed to
eliminate some of its much larger stockpile of these
weapons, as well as relocate any TNWs its does keep
away from neighboring NATO countries, and make
these holdings more transparent. Secretary of State
Hilary Clinton told the foreign ministers that:
In [seeking] any future reductions, our aim should be
to seek Russian agreement to increase transparency
on non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe, relocate
those weapons away from the territory of NATO
members, and include non-strategic nuclear weapons
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