[MUSIC] As you remember, the three pillars of nuclear non-proliferation are, the peaceful use of the nuclear energy, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Let's now focus on the provisions of the NPT that describe the idea of nuclear disarmament. The concept of disarmament described in the NPT, shapes the normative frame for the nuclear policies of the nuclear power state parties to the NPT. However, I must highlight that there are states possessing nuclear weapons that have never signed and ratified the treaty, namely, Israel, India and Pakistan and North Korea has withdrawn from the NPT. So there are now any universal international norms that set legally binding obligations and limit fair nuclear policies. However, India and Pakistan have developed a series of nuclear arms arrangements on the bilateral level. First of all, let's discover the notion of the disarmament, how it is described in the preamble of the NPT. The states concluding the Treaty recognize that a nuclear war would mean devastation to the world and human civilization. A nuclear war would cause severe damage. And mankind could hardly ever recover from the effects of the nuclear war. And nuclear war must not happen, because it leads to massive casualties. The proliferation of nuclear weapons and uncontrolled nuclear arms race Might lead to a nuclear war. So, the security of the states, Depends on the measures and efforts to regulate a nuclear arms race and efforts to prevent a nuclear war. By signing the NPT, the state parties declare the intention to stop the nuclear arms race. The measures that are described in the preamble are understood as the series of steps that should be made on the road to the goal of world free of nuclear weapons. As the weapon of battlefield, nuclear weapons would lead the world to catastrophe. And world free of nuclear weapons would be a safer place to live in. That's what the NPT preamble says. However, the state parties to the Treaty recognize that the expected measures will take much time and much effort, Because these measures must be effective. And it's obvious that developing an effective nuclear arms control measures is not an easy task. The state parties to the Treaty recognize that working on effective international, multilateral measures in the sphere of nuclear arms control and disarmament would take much time. That's why the preamble doesn't set any definite time framework for settling any arrangement. The preamble just says that the nuclear arms race must be stopped as soon as possible. And now let's have a look at the provisions of the Article VI of the NPT. The first half of the sentence that you can see on the slide is process oriented. The Parties to the Treaty undertake obligations to be involved in the process of negotiations. And this process of negotiations may take different forms, from consultations to talks and developing a draft of a treaty. However, the second part of the sentence is goal oriented. The ultimate goal of all nuclear arms control activities undertaken by the state parties to the NPT is world free of nuclear weapons. And the Article VI sets up a clear criteria to evaluate the results of the efforts of the State Parties to the Treaty. The Arms Control Measures developed in the framework of the Article VI of the NPT must be effective, international and strict. These measures must provide an instrument for an effective verification mechanism of the compliance to the obligations onto the NPT. And the Soviet Union, together with the United States, were the first state parties to the NPT who started to be involved in such negotiation process. Those two superpowers made several practical steps to implement the obligations on to the Article VI of the NPT. First, they negotiated the measures to stop a nuclear arms race. So the first treaties were the treaties of limiting nuclear armaments. But later the United States together with the USSR, later Russia, moved to the next step, they started to negotiate measures to reduce nuclear armaments. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia, together with the United States, have significantly reduced nuclear arsenals. The reference to the Article VI of the NPT is included in the preamble of all Soviet-American and later the US Russian nuclear arms control agreements. We can see this formula for the first time in the Salt 1 Agreement. And later it was repeated in Salt 2 INF Treaty and Start 1 Agreement. Settling arrangements, the two nuclear super powers were I cite, mindful of the obligations under the Article VI of the Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, end of quote. In new Start 2010 Treaty, the statement was enhanced with the following wording. I cite, committed to the fulfillment of their obligations under the Article VI of the NPT, and to the achievement of the historic goal of freeing humanity from the nuclear threat. What does Russia American joined nuclear disarmament efforts mean for the nuclear nonproliferation regime? First of all, Russia and the US have accumulated a profound invaluable experience in developing definitions, verification procedures, adaptation mechanisms, confidence building, and transparency measures. And all that experience can be used by other states who possess nuclear weapons to develop bilateral and multilateral arms control agreements. Second, above practical value, there is a symbolic meaning. The US Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreements proved the adherence of the two leading nuclear power states to the ideas described in the preamble and the Article VI of the NPT. Traditionally, the lack of achievements in the sphere of nuclear disarmament has been a sole issue, in the relations between the nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states parties to the treaty. And vice versa, any legal steps and success in the field of nuclear disarmament was always enthusiastically greeted. And third, last, but not least, traditionally every step on the road from the negotiating the arms control agreement to the report about the complete and total implementation of all obligations involves a lot of people, parliamentarians, executives, diplomats, the military, the engineers and workers. And the US-Russian communication, in the sphere of nuclear arms control, have created a stable metric of contacts, personal contacts, multi-level contacts, cross-governmental contacts. That was very important for sustainable communication in the periods of political crisis. So for more than three decades, a lot of people in the US and in Russia have been involved in a sphere of nuclear arms control. And it was extremely important in reproducing the new generations of arms control experts. A lot of people on a regular basis were involved in the activities related to nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
