Looking Forward on Nuclear Arms Control

Arms control has returned to the center of U.S.-Russian relations with the signing of the New START Treaty by Presidents Obama and Medvedev. The focus now turns to ratification. The treaty is a key pillar of the Obama administration’s broader strategy for tackling the challenge posed by nuclear weapons; other pillars include the Nuclear Posture Review, the Washington Nuclear Security Summit and the Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. These measures all underscore the vision that President Obama laid out one year ago in Prague of reducing nuclear weapons, limiting their role and ultimately moving to a world free of nuclear arms.

On May 5, the Arms Control Initiative at Brookings hosted a conference looking forward on nuclear arms control. The conference featured a panel on the New START Treaty, keynote remarks on the Obama administration’s overall strategy for managing nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation, and a panel on moving to a nuclear-free world.

After each panel, participants took audience questions.