Login/Logout

*
*  

"In my home there are few publications that we actually get hard copies of, but [Arms Control Today] is one and it's the only one my husband and I fight over who gets to read it first."

– Suzanne DiMaggio
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
April 15, 2019
Week Ahead March 3-9: IAEA mtg; Pentagon Budget; Nuclear Security; Ukraine & the NPT
Share this

Arms Control NOW

As the crisis in Ukraine continues to dominate global attention and the news headlines, several other arms control developments of significance in the coming week. WeekAheadSOLO For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today, which is available in print/digital and digital-only editions. The March issue of ACT will be available online later this week to all subscribers. - the Editors at Arms Control Today Week of March 3: IAEA Board of Governors Convenes The 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors convenes in Vienna. For updates see the IAEA Web site. Among the issues on the agenda are the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran. As expected, the IAEA Director-General Amano has reported this morning that Iran is complying with the terms of the first phase deal with the P5+1 group but this is more for Iran to do to meet its obligations. For an analysis of the agency's most recent quarterly report on Iran, see "IAEA Report Shows Iran Complying with Nov. Deal," Feb. 20. March 3: Netanyahu-Obama to Meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets today with President Obama at the White House and will also address the conference of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The final phase P5+1/Iran talks on Tehran's nuclear program is on the agenda. For more on critical issues in the talks on Iran's nuclear program , see: "Final Phase P5+1/Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Realistic Issues and Options," ACA Issue Brief, Feb. 26. March 4: Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Rollout The Office of Management and Budget will release the top-line numbers for the Obama administration's fiscal year 2015 federal budget request to Congress this week, with federal agencies providing more detailed information on their respective budget requests. The administration's request will outline funding for costly modernization programs for U.S. nuclear weapons delivery systems and warhead life-extension programs. Last week, several Senate and House members introduced legislation that would significantly reduce the cost of these progress. See: "Markey and Merkley Introduce Legislation to Cut Bloated Nuclear Weapons Budget." March 5: Briefing and report release on "Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Expectations for the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit" The Fissile Materials Working Group is hosting a special briefing on the nuclear security summit process from 12 noon-2:00 p.m. at the National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW, Washington. Speakers are: Kenneth Brill, former ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency; Kenneth Luongo of the Partnership for Global Security (PGS); Kelsey Davenport with the Arms Control Association (ACA); and Page Stoutland of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. ACA and PGS will present the findings of their new report The Nuclear Security Summit: Assessment of Joint Statements, which examines the progress made on the 13 joint statements for action presented at the 2012 summit. To RSVP or to get an embargoed copy of the report, contact Jack Kimball <[email protected]> NOTE: Ukraine Crisis and the NPT One of the key criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to deploy military forces in Ukraine's Crimea region is that it is a violation of 1994 U.S./UK/Russia security pledges made upon Ukraine's accession to Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). For an in-depth review of the diplomacy leading up to that decision and the details of the commitments, see the Brookings Institution paper, "Getting Rid of Nukes: the Trilateral Statement at 20 Years," by former U.S. Amb. to the Ukraine, Steve Pifer.