Dear CCI Friends,
Once more we hoped the New Start Treaty would be extended for a year. Once again the hope of curtailing nuclear weapons and lessening the prospect of nuclear war has been dashed. Why our U.S. leaders insist that China should be in this deal is inconceivable to me. They were never included previously and have few such weapons compared to the United States and Russia. Natylie Baldwin has allowed us to send you her discussion about this issue.
BTW, I’m reading Natylie’s latest book, The View from Moscow: Understanding Russia … and U.S.-Russia Relations, and I highly recommend it. Natylie’s lyrical manner of writing engages the reader. She starts in the 10th century with Russia’s earliest history and moves forward through nearly 400 pages, which include some 385 references from experts, in case you want to investigate one aspect or another for more information. This book is a perfect read for newcomers to Russia’s long historic past which is still so important to ordinary Russians walking the streets of their 11 time zones. Unlike Americans, Russians have absorbed their history all of their lives. It is in their fables and early education. Russian history continues to be an integral part of each school year of their education up to and including university level. For 75 years they were all taught from the same text books. As a nation they know and feel intimately a part of their history. We really have no comparable sense of our history.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
NO NEW START DEAL BEFORE ELECTION; PUTIN PROPOSES MUTUAL INSPECTIONS FOR INF-BANNED MISSILES; DEFENSE DEPT. ALLOWED CHINA POLICY TO BE HIJACKED BY DEFENSE INDUSTRY & TAIWAN HARDLINERS
November 2, 2020
By Natylie Baldwin
Early last week, there had been some hope raised that some kind of extension – at least for one year to provide space for further negotiation on a longer extension – of the New START Treaty, which is set to expire in February.
On Tuesday the 27th, Russia’s Deputy FM Sergei Ryabkov stated that the two sides were not close to an agreement and that Russia had not yet heard back on its latest offers:
“We’ve met the U.S. halfway twice over the past few weeks. We haven’t received a proper response. Strictly speaking, the Americans have confirmed the position which they’ve worked out thus far, setting up extra conditions around the treaty’s extension and the idea of freezing, in favor of which the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke on the 20th [of October],” Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow.
“We’re continuing the dialogue, but the prospects for this dialogue are rather problematic, and I’d rather not make any predictions about the result of this dialogue right now. But we’re certainly not on the verge of any kind of agreement whatsoever, as of today,” he said.