A START Follow-On Treaty December 1, 2009

Host: The Heritage Foundation. The Obama Administration has prioritized the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) follow-on negotiations. Completion of an agreement is a major part of the Administration’s effort to “reset” Russian relations and is seen as a stepping stone toward achieving Obama’s goal of a world without nuclear weapons. While President Obama wants to ratify a new treaty before START’s expiration on December 5, it is not yet signed. Will a new treaty be signed before December 5th and will the U.S. Senate ratify it? Will the U.S. make unilateral concessions in order to conclude negotiations and/or prevent a new arms race? Will the U.S. accept a Russian strategic posture designed to threaten the U.S. and its allies? Lastly, what are the areas where both countries’ national interests can coincide and what can be done to build on this coincidence of interests? Join us for a discussion on the evolution and current state of Russian nuclear doctrine and policy and the current state of START negotiations and other anticipated treaties.