Broadcast Appearance - Russia Today

US and Russia like two scorpions in a bottle – ex-White House adviser

| Mar. 26, 2018

The major global nuclear powers are building up their arsenals once again, sparking fears of a new nuclear arms race. How serious is the danger? We ask Matthew Bunn, former White House adviser on Science and Technology Policy and co-principal investigator from the Belfer Centre on Managing the Atom.

Sophie Shevardnadze: Dr Matthew Bunn, thank you very much for being with us.

Matthew Bunn: It’s a pleasure to be here.

SS: It’s great to have you on our programme. So let’s talk the New START treaty that’s going to expire in 2021. Trump on many occasions has said that it’s ‘one-sided’, ‘bad’ treaty. Do you feel like it’s that? And what would that mean for the global security?

MB: Unfortunately, I think, there is a real danger that the whole structure of the US-Russian negotiated restraint that has sort of regulated the nuclear arms competition for the last half century may collapse. We are in a situation right now where we do have the New START treaty in place, the two sides have just finished complying with all of its limits as of early February. There are inspections still taking place - it’s one of the only ways in which nuclear establishments of our two countries are still talking to each other and working together. But in its current format it expires in early 2021. Both countries are charging the other with violations of various other arms agreements. 

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:US and Russia like two scorpions in a bottle – ex-White House adviser.” Broadcast Appearance, March 26, 2018, posted by “Russia Today”.

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