By Aqsa Ejaz
Arms control and disarmament came into existence to counter the incentive to start a conflict between military competitors and to maintain and ensure the balance in which neither side acquire a decisive advantage over the other. Also, this has become ever more critical for superpowers in this multipolar world. Russia is an important player because of its substantial nuclear weapons and strategic military might. However, its policies and actions reflect a nuanced stance fluctuating between collaboration, confrontation and geopolitical maneuvering.
History:
To understand the Russian perspective requires looking at the history. When Cold war began United State, the Soviet Union was engaged into multiple arms control and disarmament treaties aimed to mitigate the threat of nuclear weapon and its destruction. United State tries hard to convince Soviet Union and China to join the initiative. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talk (SALT) and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) were the landmark of the treaties for two superpower states to stand on the same page/platform in order to reduce the nuclear arsenals.
After the termination of Soviet Union in 1991, Russia inherited these obligations and continue to play an active role in arms control regime. New Start Treaty was signed in 2011 between United state and Russia in order to reduce approximately 1550 Strategic warheads and deployment of no more than 700 ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers from each country. This treaty has been a cornerstone of being having a similar aim of reducing arms race in the region.
Current Challenges:
Despite these historical facts and figures, Russia’s policies and actions in arms control and disarmament are facing multiple challenges and controversies. As far as treaties concern, despite all the concerns Russia still being part of Treaties aiming of reducing arms race in the region. Additionally, Intermediate Range Nuclear Force (INF) was signed in 1998, that was a pivotal agreement that has eliminated a lot of missiles from the world. However, US ended the treaty in 2019 while accusing Russia for violation of arms control commitments as a primary reason. US accused Russia for violating the Treaty Under Article I and II, “no possess, produce, or fight-test”, a ground launched cruise missile having a range of 500-1500-kilometer range. Which Russia denies accusation. The U.S. countered Russian similar accusations by claiming that their missile tests and drones were within treaty bounds.
Moreover, Russia’s actions in regional conflict over Ukraine and Syria have raised questions about its commitment to global security norms. The annexation in Crimea in 2014 and ongoing dispute in Eastern Ukraine has strained the Russia’s relations with the west making cooperative arms control efforts more difficult. These geopolitical tensions lead Russia to pursue disarmament initiative.
Political Determination and Multidimensional Arrangements:
Despite challenges and controversies, Russia remains engaged with the diplomatic effort aimed at arms control initiative. Bilateral negotiations with the U.S. while fraught with difficulties, continue to be a significant element of international nuclear disarmament strategies. Additional five years of suspension of the New START Treaty in early 2021, demonstrating the two nuclear superpowers continued cooperation.
Russia’s influence on nuclear balance is significant given its permanent seat on the UN General Assembly and active participation in arms control forum. Moscow’s contribution in arms control and disarmament reflects its strategic interest in ensuring arms control measures do not excessively limit its capabilities while advocating for broader international participation, including from China.
Technological Advancements and Ethical Consideration:
In contrary, Moscow’s innovative nuclear forces and its development of new strategic weapons carries significant challenges to international arms control efforts. The innovative advanced systems like hypersonic missiles and underwater drone has raised concerns for the world, specifically US as these technological modernizations obscures efforts to negotiate new disarmament agreement that subsequently complicates efforts to discuss new disarmament agreement that adequately address these upcoming issues or threat as well.
Ethically, nuclear armed races like Russia possess a major burden of preserving international stability and mitigating the disastrous effects of nuclear conflict. Russia strategically aims to strike a balance between the necessity of arms control to prevent isolation and preserve its standing as a major world power and its interest in maintaining national security.
A deliberate strategy is needed to strike a balance between these factors. Moscow has to understand that comprehensive disarmament and arms control need more than just eliminating the nuclear capability; they also require establishing a more secure and predictable environment. This means being open and honest about compliance concerns, engaging in sincere negotiations, and considering the full range of military implications.
In conclusion, a complex interaction between Moscow’s historical past, the current geopolitical environment, and strategic concerns shapes its stance on nuclear disarmament and control. There is still need for development, despite the fact that it has greatly benefited in efforts to reduce armament, as seen by the continued challenges and disarmaments. Realizing the importance of collective security in the nuclear era, Russia and other leading countries need to make a real and open effort to disarm in order to preserve international security.
Superpowers, whether for military or national security reasons, have to admit that the weapons race is getting out of control and take decisive action to stop it completely. When a superpower deploys nuclear weapons, its adversaries will unavoidably retaliate by deploying even more, leading to a dangerous military arms race. And this cycle goes on which needed to be broken. IAEA and other nuclear safeguard agencies need a strong and enforceable nuclear disarmament mechanism, with strict control to ensure compliance and effectiveness.
The Writer is an independent research writer. She can be reached at: aqsaejaz991@gmail.com
