Reducing the nuclear dangers from the former Soviet Union
The disintegration of the former Soviet Union, a nation armed with over 27,000 nuclear weapons, poses a new form of nuclear danger. First, there is the risk that as political authority devolves to the former Soviet republics, the nuclear arsenal could similarly by parcelled out, in ways that will not be conducive to nuclear stability or to safe custody. Second, there is a danger of seizure, theft, sale, or use of nuclear weapons or components during the period of transition, particularly if the nuclear weapon operating and custodial system - apparently still intact at present - disintegrates. Third, there is a danger that any weakening of control over weapons, fissionable materials, sensitive components, or know-how could result in transfers outside the territory of the new Commonwealth of Independent States, fueling nuclear proliferation worldwide. To deal with these risks, there are a number of steps that should be taken now. These recommendations are primarily addressed to the US government, working in concert with the authorities in the Commonwealth states and the world commmunity. In order of urgency, they are: encouraging and assisting prompt securing, disabling, removing to Russia, and dismantlement of the weapons covered by the Bush-Gorbachev reciprocal proposals of last fall, and by other nuclear arms accords; extending the Bush-Gorbachev proposals to strategic nuclear weapons; assuring safety and security of Soviet nuclear weapons during a difficult transitional period; addressing proliferation outside the Commonwealth; exposing the new political structures of the Commonwealth to prevailing conceptions of international stability and security; and adjusting US nuclear relationships and military policy to the new nuclear realities in the former Soviet Union.
- OSTI ID:
- 7166899
- Journal Information:
- Arms Control Today; (United States), Vol. 22:1; ISSN 0196-125X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Nuclear security in a transformed world
Five minutes past midnight: The clear and present danger of nuclear weapons useable fissile materials. Final report, March-June 1995
Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
ARMS CONTROL
STORAGE
USSR
NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
FOREIGN POLICY
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
POLITICAL ASPECTS
PROLIFERATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
USA
VERIFICATION
ASIA
COOPERATION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EUROPE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
NORTH AMERICA
WEAPONS
350200* - Arms Control- Proliferation- (1987-)
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy