President Trump Wants China Included In Arms Control Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping chat as they walk along the front patio of the Mar-a-Lago estate after a bilateral meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Washington Free Beacon: Trump Seeks to Add China to New Arms Treaty

Beijing rejects joining talks with U.S., Moscow on New START extension.

The Trump administration wants China included in arms control talks on extending the 2010 New START strategic arms treaty despite Beijing's reluctance to engage in multilateral arms negotiations.

Senior administration officials on Wednesday outlined the new arms control approach by the president summarized as focusing on arms control a means to an end—and not the process itself—culminating in an agreement designed to enhance U.S. security.

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WNU Editor: The official Chinese position on joining any future discussion on nuclear disarmament has always been a big no! .... China Is Not Interested In Nuclear Disarmament (May 14, 2019).

China Is Not Interested In Nuclear Disarmament

DF-5B ICBM

Washington Free Beacon: China’s Great Nuclear Wall

Essay: Beijing's opaque approach to arms control obscures the growing threat of its nuclear arsenal

When it comes to nuclear arms control, China is great at playing hard to get. Beijing is the elusive beauty, a difficult but attractive target for those who seek nuclear disarmament. Powerful yet mysterious, shrouding its nuclear program in a haze of opacity, the Chinese government never actually gives its pursuers what they want. And China knows that only makes them more interested. Indeed, Beijing leads on its suitors with seductive promises of reducing its arsenal of nuclear weapons, only to demand more in return from other states before taking any steps. And then the cycle begins anew, with no fewer nuclear weapons in China.

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WNU Editor: China made it official yesterday .... China ‘has no interest’ in joining US-Russia nuclear deal (AP).

President Obama: 'Russia Uninterested in Further Reductions of Nuclear Weapons'

© REUTERS/ Andy Rain

Reuters: Obama Claims Russia Uninterested in Further Reductions of Nuclear Weapons

Obama said that Russia is not interested in further dialogue aimed at reduction of the nuclear arsenals.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama said Sunday that Russia is not interested in further dialogue aimed at reduction of the nuclear arsenals.

"I've tried to negotiate with Russians, and was able to get, when I first came to office, a START-II [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty] treaty that reduced the stockpiles of Russian and US nuclear weapons. I think we can go further but so far Russia has not shown its self-interest in doing more," Obama said in an interview with the Japanese NHK broadcaster.

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WNU Editor: In the current "Cold War" environment .... coupled with a lack of trust between Putin and Obama .... I am not surprised that there is "zero talk" on nuclear weapon reductions.

Vienna Conference On The Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons Opens Today

Risks Of Nuclear War Rising Because Of Global Tensions And Insecure Stockpiles, Warn Experts -- The Independent

'Too many nuclear weapons in the world remain ready to launch on short notice,' the military, political and diplomatic figures say

Urgent action is needed to minimise the risk of a nuclear war, more than 120 senior military, political and diplomatic figures from across the world have warned.

Ahead of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, which starts today, the experts wrote in a letter that the danger of such a conflict was “underestimated or insufficiently understood” by world leaders.

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More News On Today's Opening Of The Vienna Conference On The Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons

Conference on Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons Kicks Off in Vienna -- Sputnik
Ready-to-launch nuclear weapons pose grave risk, say former defence chiefs -- The Guardian
Ready-to-fire nuclear weapons pose ‘accidental launch’ risk – former defense chiefs -- RT
US, UK face nuclear disarmament pressure at Vienna meeting -- Reuters
U.S., UK join major nuclear weapons conference -- AFP
Talk is cheap: Washington attends the humanitarian initiative on nuclear weapons impacts -- Bulletin Of Atomic Scientists
Nuclear weapons: Not as secure as you think -- D. Parvaz, Al Jazeera

NATO Document Advocates Nuclear Disarmament For The Organization

NATO Headquarters in Brusse, Belgia (Image:NATO)

NATO Document Addresses Nuclear Disarmament -- New York Times

BERLIN — Two months before what could be the most important NATO summit meeting in more than a decade, the 28 member states of the alliance have received a draft of its new strategic concept, which for the first time, at the insistence of Germany and other countries, includes calls for nuclear disarmament.

At the same time, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s secretary general, has completed another highly classified document, numbering several hundred pages, that will be attached to the final strategic concept. Mr. Rasmussen’s document sets out in detail how NATO would react and assign units and forces to respond to a range of attacks — terrorist, cyber, conventional, nuclear or other — several diplomats said Thursday.

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Update: Draft NATO Strategy Calls for Nuclear Disarmament -- Global Security Newswire

My Comment: With any other US President, such a document would be dead on arrival. But with President Obama in the White House and Secretary of State Clinton running foreign policy .... anything is now possible.

Nuclear Disarmament Hinges On Missile Defence Dispute

Image from vrroom.naa.gov.au.

From New Scientist:

After almost a year of negotiation, the US and Russia have finally settled on a plan to further reduce their vast nuclear arsenals. If the new agreement is approved, the number of deployed warheads by will be cut by 30 per cent over previous targets. But an ongoing dispute over a European missile defence shield has the potential to scupper the plans.

The US and Russia hold some 95 per cent of the world's nuclear arms, including an estimated 4700 deployed nuclear warheads. The new agreement – a follow-up to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) – would cut the number to 1550 warheads per country over the course of seven years.

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My Comment: Nuclear disarmament hinges on many things .... missile defense being a minor one.

President Obama's Nuclear Goals Are Hitting A Wall

Obama's Nuclear Arms Pledge Hits Stumbling Block -- Times Magazine

When President Barack Obama pledged to move toward the abolition of nuclear weapons in April 2009, replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was supposed to be the easy first step. But the 1991 agreement, which limits the number of long-range nuclear weapons in Russia and the U.S., expired on Dec. 5. And a replacement has yet to be agreed upon.

An intricate kind of mimicry must be choreographed in arms reduction, requiring all sides to resist the urge to twitch as guns are lowered simultaneously, with parity maintained throughout. Nothing is easy. Yet State Department spokesman Darby Holladay told TIME that negotiators are making "significant progress" toward a START replacement. There may still be hope for a swift resolution to outstanding problems.

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My Comment: Arm control agreements have always had a problem on the issue of trust. President Obama may "trust" the Russians (to a point) .... but the Russians clearly do not trust President Obama, and are basing their negotiations on this sentiment.

In all fairness to President Obama .... the Russians would probably employ the same tactics on any other President. History has been very unkind to Russia, and their behavior will always reflect this reality.

Where Do Nuclear Weapons Go To Be Disarmed?

Photo via Spectrum

The US and Russia Agreed to Disarm Hundreds of Nukes - But Where Will They Go? -- Tree Hugger

In what's being hailed as an historic accord, Obama and Russian president Dmitri Medvedev have agreed to scale back the number of nuclear weapons each country deploys by nearly a third--now, each side will cut their supply from 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,750 nukes. Which is a good, small step for nuclear nonproliferation. But of course it takes a skeptical environmentalist to rain on the parade--but come on, aren't you curious? Where's that massive pile of nukes going to go, anyways?

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My Comment: This is an older article thatI never posted. Well .... here it is.

Putin: Russia Might Abandon Nukes If Others Do

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) meets German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Barvikha outside Moscow, June 10, 2009. REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Dmitry Astakhov (RUSSIA POLITICS)

From Yahoo News/AP:

MOSCOW – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is willing to abandon nuclear weapons, if the United States and all other countries that have them do the same.

"If those who made the atomic bomb and used it are ready to abandon it — like, I hope, other nuclear powers officially and unofficially owning them — of course we will welcome and facilitate this process in all ways," Putin said, according to state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.

Putin spoke at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who said earlier that the idea of scrapping nuclear arms altogether rather than limiting their proliferation was a real prospect.

"The goal of global zero is not a game for utopians, but will be taken up by the doyens of U.S. foreign policy as well as by German and Polish politicians," Steinmeier said.

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My Comment: I guess PM Putin has been sipping the vodka ..... nuclear disarmament is not going to happen in our lifetimes. But it should be the goal, and if Russia declares more cuts in their nuclear forces .... I may even start to believe Prime Minister Putin.

Obama's Pledge To Cut Nuclear Weapons Wins Praise From China, Developing Countries At UNW

Opening Session of the Preperatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the State Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (NTP Prepcom), 2008 in Geneva. Photo from Wikimedia.

From L.A. Times:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama's pledge to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons won praise Monday from China and key developing countries, and spurred hope that Washington's policy shift and new U.S.-Russian cooperation will end a long deadlock on global disarmament efforts.

But at the start of a U.N. meeting to prepare for a 2010 conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, country representatives tempered their welcome by saying they want to see results.

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My Comment: The whole point of President Obama's world tour was to get everyone to "like us". But saying one thing .... and then implementing it .... these are two totally different situations. I expect the implementation part is going to disapoint a lot of people.

Obama Launches Effort To Reduce Nuclear Arms

US President Barack Obama delivers his speech in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, April 5, 2009. Obama will also attend a summit between the United States and the 27-member European Union in Prague on Sunday. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)

From Yahoo News/AP:

PRAGUE – President Barack Obama on Sunday launched an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War" and saying the U.S. has a moral responsibility to lead as the only nation to ever use one.

In a speech driven with fresh urgency by North Korea's rocket launch just hours earlier, Obama said the U.S. would "immediately and aggressively" seek ratification of a comprehensive ban on testing nuclear weapons. He said the U.S. would host a summit within the next year on reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, and he called for a global effort to secure nuclear material.

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More News On President Obama And Nuclear Weapons

Obama calls for reduction in nuclear weapons -- CNN
Obama Calls For Reduction Of Nuclear Arms -- CBS
Obama Details Anti-Nuke Plan -- Voice of America
Many obstacles to Obama nuclear dream -- BBC
In Prague, Obama Set to Speak on Global Arms Control -- Washington Post
Obama Wants World with No Nuclear Weapons -- The Times
Obama Outlines Disarmament Plan -- Wall Street Journal
Obama's Bipartisan Moment on Foreign Policy -- LA Times opinion