BASIC organised a private roundtable with experts and officials on March 8, 2013 to take stock of the current strategic and political dynamics surrounding negotiations on a Fissile Material (Cut-Off) Treaty.
Arms control
The time for positive ideas on the Zone is NOW!
BASIC's Executive Director, Paul Ingram, reflects on the NPT and where we are on the establishment of the Middle East WMD-free zone:
The NPT PrepCom this week has been overshadowed by the near-universal frustration over the lack of progress on holding a conference on a Middle East zone free of WMD. State after state got up in plenary to express that frustration, many condemning the co-sponsors’ decision in late 2012 to postpone.
Paul Ingram on Egypt’s walkout at NPT PrepCom
BASIC Executive Director Paul Ingram was quoted extensively in this article on Egypt's decision to walk out of the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting happening in Geneva.
Russian and U.S. strategic impasse
While most nuclear arms control attention will remain focused on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Conference (PrepCom) in Geneva this week, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov is expected to meet on Tuesday with U.S. Defense Undersecretary James Miller in Brussels to discuss a related issue: missile defense.
Roundtable meeting in Brussels: Engaging Russia on Tactical Nuclear Weapons
BASIC, in cooperation with the Arms Control Association (ACA), the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH), and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), hosted in Brussels on April 15, 2013 a private roundtable on engaging Russia on tactical nuclear weapons.
What’s In Store for the PrepCom?
Over the coming two weeks, the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Review Conference (RevCon) of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will meet, in Geneva, for the second time in the NPT’s current five year review cycle.
The P5 discuss disarmament in Geneva
This week, the NPT nuclear weapon states—also the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5: United Kingdom, United States, China, France, and Russia) meet in Geneva to reaffirm their commitments to nuclear disarmament and implementing the 2010 NPT Action Plan. The group will meet privately on Thursday, and on Friday will present a statement that will be carried through to the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom), which commences the following Monday, April 22nd.
Iran Update No. 167
The E3+3, Iran, and the Almaty talks
Last week's talks were deemed by many commentators as a failure. Rather than responding directly to the E3+3’s (P5+1's) agenda around initial small confidence-building steps, the Iranian delegation appears to have looked for reassurances that the end-state would include lifting the sanctions and recognition of Iran’s right to enrich, and that the group of six was serious in recognizing objectives of the Iranian delegation.