Mideast nuclear ambitions and Russia’s warhead plans strain disarmament conference

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Disarmament talks strained over Mideast, Russia

PARIS — Tensions over nuclear weapons in the Middle East and over Russia’s tactical arsenal tangled talks Tuesday aimed at pushing for global nuclear disarmament.

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev offered backing to a conference in Paris of political leaders and former arms control negotiators, calling disarmament a priority. Yet no signs emerged of a breakthrough in stalled US-Russian talks for renewing a 1991 treaty on slashing arsenals.

While getting to “zero” — a world without nuclear weapons — still sounds like a distant dream to some, the idea has gained momentum since Obama embraced it last year and won the Nobel Peace prize in part because of his anti-nuclear stance.

“We will work toward reductions that are historic yet realistic, ambitious yet achievable,” Obama said in written message to the Paris conference, organized by the nongovernmental Global Zero initiative.

Medvedev, for his part, said, “Our common task consists in undertaking everything to make deadly weapons of mass destruction become a thing of the past.”

He also stressed the need for “equal security” — a reminder that the Cold War balance of powers remains important in 21st century arms talks.

Russia’s tactical weapons emerged as a sticking point at the Paris conference.

George Shultz, former U.S. secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, said Russia is increasing its tactical nuclear warhead arsenal and questioned why. “The concept of deterrence is a deteriorating argument,” he told The Associated Press at the conference, adding that “tactical weapons are more vulnerable to theft.”

Russian senator Mikhail Margelov countered, “I cannot agree that Russia is increasing its tactical weapons,” and insisted that Moscow is committed to reducing stockpiles long-term.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt urged Russia and the United States to “substantially reduce” their tactical warheads in Europe, especially the Russian weapons on the European Union’s eastern border.

The United States has about 100 tactical air-delivered warheads in Europe while Russia has at least 7,000, said Richard Burt, an arms control negotiator under Reagan and a leader of the Global Zero movement.

The group is proposing step-by-step efforts to reduce the number strategic, tactical and stored nuclear weapons.

A key first step will be a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December. U.S. and Russian negotiators say they will observe the old one until a new treaty is in place, but talks have become hung up on a disagreement about how to monitor the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

A new START treaty will not address other areas of nuclear friction, including Iran and North Korea.

Participants at the Paris conference clashed over how to to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building weapons and which Iran says is aimed at producing nuclear energy.

“They’ve got oil and gas coming out the ears — why do they need nuclear tecnology?” Shultz asked.

Jordan’s Queen Noor, a leading figure in the Global Zero movement and one of the few participants from the Middle East, warned that singling Iran out could backfire.

“There is no benefit in selective targeting. Exceptions fuel tensions,” she warned. “You have to hold all states accountable.”

She was referring to Israel’s nuclear weapons, which the government has never formally acknowledged but which are seen by many in the Middle East as a threat.

Schulz argued back, “You can’t start by tellng Israel to get rid of its weapons” when it is in a region surrounded by people “who question its right to exist.”

He pushed for firm line against Iran, saying U.N. sanctions for Tehran’s defiance of demands to stop uranium enrichment “are not enough.”

“Somebody caught cheating should know there are consequences,” he said. He would not say what other levers the international community could use to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

France’s government, though hosting Tuesday’s conference, remained cautious about the idea of ridding the world of atomic arms.

“France’s nuclear deterrent has protected our country very well for many years,” said Pierre Sellal, secretary general of the French Foreign Ministry.