by The Economist
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| On December 8th 1987 American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty—agreeing to ban an entire class of nuclear weapon. Nearly 30 years on, tensions and recriminations continue to define the relationship between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers
Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7 In 1987 Russia and America took the first steps towards ending an arms race that had once brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. After years of negotiation the superpowers agreed to meet to discuss what would lead to the beginning of the end of the cold war. Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to destroy and never again produce land-based missiles with a range of 500-5,500 miles. At the time, The Economist reported that the world had crossed a Rubicon of nuclear disarmament but warned the West to tread carefully. Western public opinion may be lulled into thinking that Russia is no longer an adversary. Frank Miller spent 30 years working for the US government on national security and negotiated nuclear deals with the Russians. 30 years on, each side accuses the other of breaking the terms and the spirit of the treaty they signed. The Russians insist that it is America that has broken the treaty. Most recently they claim that NATO defence systems in Romania can be used to carry nuclear warheads. Donald Trump’s apparent desire to befriend Putin may help diffuse the latest tensions, but with the threat of nuclear war as real as ever, it’s a precarious time for an unpredictable and untested leader to arrive in the White House. Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the working week. |
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