What does the Doomsday Clock show? (Part 2)

- In December 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on strengthening the ACR in space proposed by Russia. The resolution, entitled "Strengthening and Developing the System of Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation Treaties and Agreements," called on all signatory states to fully implement all provisions of the relevant instruments.

The resolution also noted the need to make efforts to strengthen the Treaty System. It received broad support from the international community. There were 173 States in favor, one against and nine abstentions. This is an excellent result, considering that the UN now has 193 member states. In other words, about 90 percent of the countries that make up the largest international organization voted for the resolution.

- Despite the adopted resolution, the key parameters of the ACR cannot be assessed positively at this time. What is the document about?

It calls on all States Parties to treaties and agreements on ACR, disarmament and non-proliferation to fully implement all provisions of such instruments. It called for “continued efforts to strengthen the relevant system of treaties and agreements, and to preserve its integrity and validity in order to maintain global stability and international peace and security.”

- In spite of the fact that all resolutions adopted at General Assembly sessions are recommendatory, this resolution is of great practical importance. What is the reason? – For many decades the United States has been evading ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty signed in 1996 that was ratified by Russia back in 2000.

The USA and all other NATO member states who signed the adapted Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe in 1999, have still not approved it. Consequently, they do not and will not comply with it.

- Washington flatly refuses to discuss two politico-military documents: the draft multilateral Treaty on European Security, which was submitted to the interested states 14 years ago, and the Agreement on Security Measures between Russia and the NATO member-states, the main provisions of which were sent to NATO HQ in Brussels in mid-December 2021.

The U.S. has categorically rejected Russia's proposal to extend the existing Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents on the High Seas Beyond the Outer Limit of Territorial Waters and in the Airspace above it to submarines in the submerged position of the parties that was signed between the USSR and the USA in May 1972. The Treaty was inherited by Russia in 1991 when the USSR demised.

- Nothing has changed in the policy of the two US administrations. Democrats approach the issue of ACR the same way as the previous Republican administration. There has been no radical turn for the better.

The United States is still on a policy of freezing almost all of the New START process, except for the solution of the New START reduction problem. There is only one difference.

President Biden has offered to work out the Newest START treaty with Russia presently, before it expires in February 2026. That is, he has advocated a selective, i.e., specifically chosen process of reducing such armaments, while at the same time he is trying to remove other types of weapons from the negotiating agenda.

Such pattern of negotiations is unacceptable to Moscow.

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