Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

Europe (CFE) agreement; ballistic missile defense; <strong>and</strong>
the inclusion of all states possessing nuclear weapons
in the negotiation forum, instead of just a U.S.-Russia
bilateral format. Moreover, the resumption of talks
could lead to confidence-building measures (CBMs) in
the short term to reduce the military threat <strong>and</strong> to reduce
political tensions in Europe. CBMs could include
greater transparency, among other matters, resulting
in a final resolution of just how many NSNWs <strong>NATO</strong>
<strong>and</strong> Russia possess.
THE RUSSIAN POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Arms control talks are, of course, as political as
they are military. Merely pursuing arms control talks
with the United States can have political payoffs internationally
<strong>and</strong> domestically by reaffirming the importance
of Russia as a key player in the international
system. President Vladimir Putin, for instance, pursued
strategic arms reduction with the United States,
resulting in the Treaty of Moscow (also known as the
Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty or SORT) in May
2002, in part as a way to score a foreign policy victory
early in his term.
There are also a number of important political-economic-demographic
issues that influence the Russian
perspective on NSNWs. These include key domestic
elements, such as the elimination of corruption in the
military modernization process, which stymies rapid
progress toward reform; the efficient allocation of resources
to develop PGMs; the production of sufficient
oil <strong>and</strong> gas to generate income in the face of declining
oil <strong>and</strong> gas prices <strong>and</strong> projected declining production
of oil <strong>and</strong> gas; <strong>and</strong> the numerical decline of the Russian
population, which simultaneously means fewer work-
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