WORKING TO ACHIEVE A PEACEFUL SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FREE FROM THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Dear Friends,
Today, because of the termination of the INF Treaty, controlling nuclear weapons has been set back and we cannot ignore such a serious matter. The future of humanity depends on how well we control these devices. Here are the respective positions.
US claims of Russia violations of the INF Treaty are well covered in the US press. It is worthwhile to note the formal substantive argument of the the Department of State:
Russia claims the US violated the INF Treaty:
“According to our information, the United States started violating that undated treaty (INF, came into force in 1988 – TASS) in 1999 when it began trials of combat unmanned flying vehicles with specifications similar to those of ground-launched cruise missiles banned by the Treaty,” Sergie Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister said. “Later it started using target missiles, ballistic target missiles, for testing its missile defense system, whereas starting 2014 it began deploying in Europe launching pads for its positioning areas of missile defense – Mk 41 launching pads, which may absolutely be used without any changes and to launch Tomahawk medium-range cruise missiles,” Lavrov noted.”That is a direct violation of the Treaty,” he said, adding that “such systems have already been deployed in Romania, are being prepared for deployment in Poland, as well as in Japan.” (article in Tass at
A thorough unpacking of Russian claims can be found in an article by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists by Ted Postal:
Because this matter is so serious we urge your review of two articles written by principles in the negotiations of the Treaty: President Mikhail Gorbachev and Secretary George Shultz in the Washington Post, and Ambassador Thomas Graham in Newsweek:
President Gorbachev is a distinguished member of GSI’s Board of Advisors. Ambassador Graham is a member of GSI Board of Directors. Secretary Shultz is a member of the United Religions Initiative’s Cooperation Circle, Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, along with myself and Ambassador Graham. We urge your attention to www.thenuclearprayer.com where we join in prayer.
So that history does not repeat, next week, Hiroshima must be remembered.