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Anti-Missile Shield Against Nameless States

By Andrew Slov

NATO Summit in Lisbon and other significant events with the participation of Russia and 20 states, cooperating with NATO, should become historic ones. The new adopted NATO doctrine is called to define the strategy of the Alliance within the following 10 years. Also the Anti-Missile Shield Treaty was signed. It became possible in the result of the compromise reached between the members of NATO block and Turkey, the key figure within the planned anti-missile shield. Being a member of the Alliance, nevertheless Turkey considered as necessary to extend the terms of its participation.

Although the primary mission of the anti-missile shield was the protection from potential threats from Iran, now an agreement was concluded with Turkey and other states on that definite states-sources of threats won’t be specified. The Treaty obliges the Alliance to extend the missile defense US system for the protection of the population of NATO member-states, locating in Europe, including Turkey against the attacks with intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Earlier sounded demand of Ankara for the control center to be located in Turkey was put off. In Lisbon Turkish President Abdullah Gul didn’t already insist on the solution of the related issues. Despite that definite states-sources of threats are not named, Iran is the kind of the country as French President Nicolas Sarkozy confessed.  It unites everybody despite the principle of difference in this issue of the Russian Federation and some NATO-states – which is not a threat for Russia anymore according to Medvedev existence of nuclear weapon allowed preserving peace in Europe during 65 years, being a deterrent factor.

And the planned BMD system can break the existing parity which will only incite undesirable armaments race. The participation of Russia within BMD should only be a partner one. Experts interpret this demand of Medvedev as the veto right of Russia within decision-making.

It’s noteworthy that having joined the anti-Iran sanctions of the UNO, Moscow has in fact acknowledged the existence ofthe threat coming from the nuclear program of Iran. Recently Medvedev has discussed the nuclear programs of the number of states with Iranian President in Baku, during the Summit of Pre-Caspian states.

The Summit resulted into the signing of the Caspian Sea Security Treaty by 5 states. As many experts note, there is a national consensus in Iran on the rights to possess its own nuclear weapon, as it is possessed almost by all neighboring states. This even more actualizes the problem of nuclear non-proliferation and security.

According the EU Commissioner on Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton, the European Union has agreed to hold talks on Iranian nuclear program on December 5th, 2010. This date was approved in the results of the consultations with the “Six”. Now Ashton will present a document inviting to have a meeting that day to the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of National Security of Iran and for the representative on nuclear issues Saeed Jalili.

Earlier Secretary General Jalili sent Ashton an invitation to arrange a meeting on December 5th, 2010 in Istanbul (Turkey).Meanwhile the EU representatives agreed on the date, but refused the place of the meeting. The EU suggests Austria or Switzerland as the place of talks holding.

Let’s remind, as Ashton claimed in the end of October, Iran is ready to get back to the negotiations on nuclear project after November 10th 2010. The case is about the talks between Islamic Republic and the “Six” of international intermediates, which include Russia, the USA., France, Great Britain, China and Germany.

As known, except for Iranian nuclear program, there is also a threat of North Korea regime. Literally on the eve of the NATO Summit in Lisbon South Korea claimed that it detected the activity of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea within a missile training area and it suspects the neighbor in the arrangement of new nuclear test.

According to the Japanese Mass Media, the images from satellites depicted that tunneling is being performed within the area where last year North Korea had its second nuclear tests. According to the representative of South Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs this proves the idea that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea carries out active arrangements supposedly for new launches of nuclear weapon. In this respect, the observations go on.

According to received information, North Korea has started the construction of the pilot reactor with the use of light water in the area of the nuclear complex in Yongbyon. The reactors of the kind use low-enriched uranium as fuel. For the creation of a full-value nuclear weapon they need highly-enriched uranium.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea claimed that it is ready to join the six-party talks on the finishing of its nuclear program, from which the state withdrew in December 2008. However, two participants of the round talks, including also Japan, China and Russia, - South Korea and the USA, - demanded from Pyongyang to undertake definite steps towards the denuclearization before the talks.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regularly claims the coming of the moment of nuclear weapon creation. However, according to expert evaluations, last reports on this  is only a mean of pressure of North Korea regime on the international community to get humanitarian aid. At the moment, nuclear weapon is possessed by the USA (following the year of the first test, since 1945), Russia (initially the Soviet Union, 1949), Great Britain (1952), France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), Pakistan (1998) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the announcement of the development of nuclear weapon was made in the middle of 2005, first test was held in October 2006). Israel doesn’t comment on the information about the possession of nuclear weapon, however, all experts unanimously think, that it has possessed significant arsenal since late 1960-s – beginning 1970-s.

It’s noteworthy that the planned talks between the Islamic Republic and the “Six” of international intermediates will be preceded by the OSCE Summit in Astana, where they will also discuss the issues of security, raised during the NATO Summit in Lisbon, where the guests included also the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev –  the OSCE Chairman-in-power.

Under the aegis of Kazakh Chairmanship at the OSCE Astana already held the Conference on terrorism prevention, during which they also suggested to observe the issues of the strengthening of counteraction to terrorism with the use of mass destruction weapon.

As known, in Lisbon Russian President proved the urgency of the suggestion of Kazakhstan to legalize the new format of “Nuclear Club” by the inclusion of the states, de-facto possessing nuclear weapon. These states should not stand on the opposite sides. This club and each member should take liabilities to act exclusively in coordination with the UNO Security Council.

The logics of world processes development within the sphere of nuclear security with no doubts should make the security an urgent issue also for the kind of international bodies as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Interesting that next year there will be the castling between their current Chairmen – Kazakhstan and Turkey.

It’s also noteworthy, that on the moment of the Soviet Union collapse Kazakhstan was the 4th state in the world on the quantity of possessed nuclear warheads, but in the result of the Treaty, signed by Bill Clinton (the USA) and Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan), it voluntarily refused of nuclear armament.

In July 2005 Kazakhstan joined the Initiative on security in the sphere of mass destruction weapon proliferation, known as the “Krakow Initiative”. The goal of the Initiative was to involve all the states into the process of detection of suspicious aircrafts and ships, and also land vehicles, transporting materials, related to the mass destruction weapon.

The same year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria – the depository of the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missiles Proliferation received the note of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan notifying about the joining of Kazakhstan to the Code, which was important within the context of the acceding of the country to the Regime of Missile Technologies Control.

In August 2010 exactly Kazakhstan presented a new anti-nuclear initiative and suggested to develop a universal declaration of a nuclear-free world, which supposes to fix the determination of all the states of the world to promote step by step to the dispose of the nuclear war threat.

Many experts think that Kazakhstan stands out with its policy within the issue of nuclear weapon. In comparison with many states, which only talked about disarmament, but didn’t reduce their nuclear arsenals, Kazakhstan refused of significant nuclear arsenal.

Due to this, Kazakhstan at the moment is the only state possessing a moral right to agitate for nuclear disarmament and demand the same from other states. Anti-nuclear initiatives of Kazakhstan have exceptional significance for complete nuclear disarmament. This absolutely differs from the current way of control within the framework of the Nuclear Weapon Non-Proliferation Treaty, which doesn’t demand from the “nuclear club” members obligatory nuclear disarmament, and in its essence is directed on discrimination of non-nuclear states within the access to nuclear technologies.

According to  the Kazakh Leader, the example of his country, which voluntarily refused of nuclear weapon is the real alternative to the process, which resembles “the balancing of the world over the edge”. However, only few followed the example of Kazakhstan. The nuclear test in North Korea, contradictions around Iranian nuclear program, long-standing counteraction of two nuclear powers – India and Pakistan, the attempts of terrorists to gain own nuclear weapon – these all once again demonstrated how fragile the world balance is today.

Today more than 40 stated are on the edge of nuclear weapon creation. That is why the world should establish the system of real security from it. Will the systems of global and European Missile Defense, which were discussed during the NATO Summit in Lisbon, be able to become efficient tools of security – it is still not clear.
   

 

  

 
24.11.2010