Obama, Medvedev sign Arms Reduction Treaty: “An Important Milestone for Nuclear Security

The Guardian, Prague, April 8, 2010 by Sunlen Miller,Yunji de Nies and Huma Khan

With the stroke of two pens, President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a new nuclear disarmament treaty in Prague today, replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that expired Dec. 5.

The United States and Russia – the world's two nuclear superpowers – are pledging to reduce their nuclear arms by a third, making the historic agreement the first of its kind in two decades. The setting – signing the treaty in Prague – served as a symbolic gesture as it was this city where just over a year ago Obama spoke about his vision of a de-nuclearized world.

The treaty requires both countries to reduce their nuclear arsenals from 2,200 deployed warheads for each country to 1,550 over seven years, a 30 percent reduction from the last treaty. And they'll reduce their long-range missiles and launchers to 700 for each country as well.

"Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation, and for U.S.-Russia relations," Obama said at the signing today. "This day demonstrates the determination of the United States and Russia – the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons – to pursue responsible global leadership. Together, we are keeping our commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which must be the foundation of global non-proliferation."

Obama this morning was welcomed to Prague with pomp and celebrations. Prior to the treaty signing, Obama and Medvedev held a long meeting to discuss Iran and the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where clashes between the government and protestors Wednesday left numerous dead.

Today's signing comes just days after the White House announced the administration's new nuclear strategy, calling for the elimination of nuclear arms testing and development of new nuclear weapons. In what has perhaps been the most controversial point of the new policy is the United States' commitment to not use nuclear weapons against any country that has signed and is abiding by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, even if they attack the United States with chemical or biological weapons.

Exercise 23.

Comprehension check

1. What did President Obama and President Dmitri Medvedev sign in Prague?

2.What did the New Start treaty replace?

2.What were the most important aspects for U.S – Russia relations?

3. What was the new nuclear strategy calling for?

4. What problems did Obama and Medvedev discuss during their meeting in Prague?

Exercise 24.

Using information from the text try to characterize the influence of the new nuclear strategy on development of the international situation.

Why do сritics think that the new policy and the U.S- Russia arms agreement is the wrong message to Iran?

Exercise 25.

Study the topical vocabulary:

Read the following texts and answer comprehension questions.

The Chemical Weapons Convention

The Chemical Weapons Convention is an international agreement that bans chemical weapons and mandates the destruction of all existing chemical weapons stocks. The CWC bars signatories from producing, stockpiling or using chemical weapons. The Chemical Weapons Convention has been ratified by more than 100 states, including the U.S. It entered into force on April 29, 1997. Russia signed the treaty in 1993, ratified in 1997.

Russia has accumulated 44,000 tons of chemical weapons. It is required to destroy its first 400 tons by 2000. The stockpile of chemical weapons – including mustard gas, nerve gas, and blister gas – can turn into an environmental lime bomb if left to decay any longer.

Land Mine Ban

An international treaty to ban land mines which kill and maim some 25,000 people each year entered into force in March, 1999.

The treatv, concluded in Ottawa in 1997', has been signed by 133 countries and ratified by 64 of them. About 12 countries have destroyed their stocks of anti-personnel mines entirely.

Major users and producers, including the United States, Russia and China, have refused to join in. It will take decades to clear the tens of millions of mines which are scattered in more than 60 countries.

The Ottawa convention commits signatories to ban production, use, stocks and exports or anti-personnel mines.

The International campaign to Ban Land Mines won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize

Comprehension check:

1. What does the CWC ban?

2. How many countries ratified the CWC?

3. What is Russia to do under the CWC?

Exercise 26.

Give the Russian equivalents:

1.to strike a deal, to tempt smb lo build more missiles, to require reduction of strategic arsenals, anincrease in the defense capabilities, to maintain a large nuclear arsenal, drastic reductions, to impose some limits ,deployment of US. long- range sea-based cruise missiles,

2.to ban chemical weapons, to mandate the destruction of all chemical weapons stocks, to bar from, to enter into force, to accumulate chemical weapons, to turn into an environmental time bomb, to decay, to set limits, to prevent from piling up arms, to allow flexibility in the placement of the forces, to keep extra troops, to outnumber.

Exercise 27.

Give the English equivalents:

1.ядерные державы, развивать сотрудничество в области широкого использования ядерной энергии, обязательства, внести поправки в договор, баллистические ракеты, представлять серьезную угрозу национальной безопасности, требовать сокращения вооружения, ядерные боеголовки;

2.укрепить самооборону, быть отвергнутым, регулировать уничтожение всех видов химического оружия, нервно-паралитический газ, распадаться, принятие соглашения с НАТО, дислоцировать дополнительные войска в Кавказском регионе, сосредотачивать уничтожить базы ,превзойти по численности

Exercise 28

Comprehension check:

1 When was the Land Mine treaty signed?

2 How many countries signed the treaty and ratified it?

3.What countries refused to join it?

Exercise 29.

Read and translate the text.

Iran’s Nuclear Program

The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution that toppled the Shah of Iran.

After the 1979 revolution, a clandestine nuclear weapons research program was disbanded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who considered such weapons forbidden under Muslim ethics and jurisprudence. Iran has signed treaties repudiating the possession of weapons of mass destruction including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran's nuclear program has included several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants.

Iran's first nuclear power plant, Bushehr I reactor was complete with major assistance of Russian government agency Rosatom and officially opened on 12 September 2011. Iran has announced that it is working on a new 360 MW nuclear power plant to be located in Darkhovin. The Russian engineering contractor Atomenergoprom said the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant would reach full capacity by the end of 2012. Iran has also indicated that it will seek more medium-sized nuclear power plants and uranium mines in the future.

In a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, the United States Intelligence Community assessed that Iran had ended all "nuclear weapon design and weaponization work" in 2003. In 2012, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that Iran was pursuing research that could enable it to produce nuclear weapons, but was not attempting to do so.

In November 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors criticized Iran after an IAEA report concluded that before 2003 Iran likely had undertaken research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability. The IAEA report details allegations that Iran conducted studies related to nuclear weapons design, including detonator development, the multiple-point initiation of high explosives, and experiments involving nuclear payload integration into a missile delivery vehicle. A number of Western nuclear experts have stated there was very little new in the report, that it primarily concerned Iranian activities prior to 2003, and that media reports exaggerated its significance. Iran threatened to reduce its cooperation with the IAEA.

Exercise 30.

Comprehension check:

1. When was the nuclear program of Iran launched?

2. When was the first nuclear power plant officially opened?

3. What was the assessment of the United States Intelligence Community in 2007?

4. Why did the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors In November 2011criticize Iran?

5. What does the term «weaponization work» mean?

6. What do some countries consider Iran a threat to the world community?

Exercise 31.

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