Hold praise of US-Russian nuclear deal for now

• Source: Global Times
• [02:18 March 29 2010]
• Comments

The new nuclear arms cuts treaty, due to be inked by the world's two largest nuclear powers on April 8, does not deserve to be hailed now.

True, the pact to limit both the US and Russia to 1,500 warheads each has given some momentum to US President Barack Obama's call for a nuke-free planet.

And there is no denying that for the call to become a reality, the first major nuclear deal between the two former Cold War adversaries in nearly two decades is a first step in creating a climate of trust.

But at the moment, the deal is just a piece of paper yet to be signed.

Even after new START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is signed and put into action, the nuclear arsenals possessed by the two countries will still be large enough to blow the entire planet apart dozens of times.

Needless to say, the prospects for the deal itself are full of uncertainties, especially as disputes remain over the verification rules regarding nuclear weapons and over the US plan for a missile defense shield in Europe.

The winding path the world has taken toward nuclear disarmament has given rise to suspicion toward the real determination of the two countries to put their words into action.

Despite the increasing number of countries giving up their nuclear weapons programs, such as Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Libya, the efforts taken by the US and Russia in the past 20 years have been far from enough: Both countries are still in possession of as much as 95 percent of the world's stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Even after Obama ambitiously outlined his vision for a nuke-free world in his address in Prague last year, the nuclear weapons-related budget of his administration has disappointingly risen. The entrenched interests of the defense industry and the deep-rooted Cold War mentality of some nuclear hawks have made the force of resistance too strong to overcome.

Skepticism is mounting over how determined Russia is in its nuclear disarmament, too. Though seemingly keen on the nuclear cuts deal, the country has kept a very close eye on the nuclear dismantling actions taken by its former Cold War rival. Few substantive steps have yet been taken.