Putin suspends nuclear pact with US

[Dezerte]

who takes over Russia if Putin were to die?

They swap him out with Lenin every few years or so.

[Tico]

Yeah, suspending the nuclear pact is rather dangerous for the whole world. I hope that it's just sabre-rattling, still it is not a good move.

I'm quite sure it is only a saber-rattling. But yes, not a good move to play with this issue.

[Wildtree]

We share a common destination.
Each person Has their time to die.
But men are speeding up our journey.
By seeing what they can destroy with their
Cruise missiles (We're living near those).
Cruise missiles (We're looking for those).
Cruise missiles (They're not five years away).
They're building shelters for the privileged.
There won't be room for you and me.
So read your pamphlets of precautions.
They'll make you laugh until you see that those
Cruise missiles (We're living near those).
Cruise missiles (We're sitting on those).
Cruise missiles (They're not five years away).
They claim the ultimate solution.
To all the problems that we face.
It's pointing rockets at the Russians.
And hope they don't end up in Greece. All those
Cruise missiles (We're looking for those).
Cruise missiles (We're standing near those).
Cruise missiles (They're not 5 miles away).
They're not 5 years away.
They're not 5 miles away.
They're not 5 miles away

[tumppu]

So what's the atomic clock reading just now?

Not that this should move it anywhere, just Putin pulling out more "aces from his sleeve". Next they will probably ban european and american produce again on some made up "contamination suspicion".

[Shadowmelded]

So what's the atomic clock reading just now?

Not that this should move it anywhere, just Putin pulling out more "aces from his sleeve". Next they will probably ban european and american produce again on some made up "contamination suspicion".

3 minutes to midnight.

[Deleted]

The clock ticked 3 minutes to midnight last year. Before that, the last time it was 3 minutes to midnight was in 1984. Last time we were 2 minutes to midnight was in 1953, so if the clock ticks once more, I'd say we're making history.

Having said that, nothing stops a crazy man from launching nukes regardless of what some imaginary clock says.

[tumppu]

The clock ticked 3 minutes to midnight last year. Before that, the last time it was 3 minutes to midnight was in 1984. Last time we were 2 minutes to midnight was in 1953, so if the clock ticks once more, I'd say we're making history.

Having said that, nothing stops a crazy man from launching nukes regardless of what some imaginary clock says.

I know, I was not THAT interested to know.

Maybe I'm overtly pessimistic, but maybe we could use a new war to slap some realism into this world, so overtly fussed about "rape culture in campuses" and "offensive ads in tv" and mostly interested on what their favorite (or least favorite) reality tv characters were up to lately. And racism of course.

[Sorshen]

I wonder if the western leaders will soon realize that Putin was right about the sanctions war / threats being a counter-productive approach to solving mutual differences.

Maybe more sanctions are in order then.

[Ulmita]

Russian MP: Suspension of plutonium agreement to harm US economic interests

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Suspension of the agreement with the US on the disposal of redundant plutonium will harm economic interests of the US and will prove the seriousness of Russia’s intentions to defend its national priorities, a senior parliamentarian from the State Duma lower house of parliament told Tass on Monday.
"Suspension of the agreement not only affects sizable part of US economic interests, but it also demonstrates that our intentions are serious in defending national priorities. That is why the terms for resumption of the agreement are absolutely correct," said Vladimir Gutenev, slated for the head of commission for ensuring legal groundwork for entities of the defense-industrial sector.


He said that by making this decision Moscow "gives a clear signal of a need to review relations and maintain an equal balance, where the interests of both sides will be taken into consideration".


Gutnev said that "initially, at the moment of the signing.. the agreement was of small advantage and interest for the Russian Federation, and was in essence "imposed by the forces that had influence on the country’s leadership in the 1990s".


"Our president has always remained committed and has not reviewed the earlier assumed commitments, ensuring full legal succession. Unfortunately, our opponents often lack this, they treat the earlier signed agreements very freely, referring to the changed conditions," the deputy said.


Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a bill on suspending the agreement with the United States on the disposal of redundant plutonium. The bill lists conditions on which the agreement could be resumed, including cancellation of the so-called Magnitsky Act, all anti-Russian sanctions with compensation of the damage, as well as reduction of US military infrastructure in NATO countries.


"It is very regretful that Russia has been taking no counter measures to unfriendly moves," he said. "The principle of reciprocity is extremely important in politics. As it seems to me, we should have possibly taken these measures after first unfriendly moves, but we still had hope that the confrontation policy of the West would not go that far," he said.


"I am sure that all State Duma deputies will support this initiative of the president," Gutnev said.


"The effect of the Agreement and the protocols to the Agreement may be resumed after the Unites States removes the causes that have radically changed the circumstances that existed on the day the Agreement and the protocols to the Agreement entered into force," article two of the draft law says.
In particular, the talk is about "reducing the military infrastructure and the numerical strength of the US contingent based on the territories of the NATO member states, which joined the alliance after September 1, 2000, to the level, at which they stayed on the day the Agreement and the protocols to the Agreement entered into force."
The second condition stipulated in the draft law is that the United States should give up unfriendly policy towards Russia by "cancelling the US 2012 Act [the Magnitsky Act] and the provisions of the US 2014 Act on the support of Ukraine’s freedom aimed against Russia," "cancelling all sanctions imposed by the United States on specific Russian regions, Russian legal entities and private individuals," and also by "compensating for the damage sustained by Russia as a result of the imposition of the sanctions, including the losses from the imposition of counter-sanctions against the USA," the bill says.


The third condition is that "the United States should provide a clearly-expressed plan of the irreversible disposal of plutonium falling under the effect of the Agreement," the bill says.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered suspension of the plutonium disposal agreement with the United States over Washington’s unfriendly actions towards Russia.


"In connection with a fundamental change of the circumstances and the emergence of a threat to strategic stability as a result of unfriendly actions by the United States towards Russia and the United States’ inability to ensure compliance with the assumed commitments to utilizing excessive weapons grade plutonium under international treaties and also proceeding from the need for urgent measures to protect the security of Russia" the Russian president ordered suspension of the agreement between the governments of Russia and the United States concerning the utilization of plutonium that has been declared as plutonium no longer necessary for defense purposes, its handling and cooperation in that field, the decree runs.


The agreement with the United States was signed on August 29, 2000. It envisaged ways of disposing of excessive weapons grade plutonium in Russia and the United States, including the production of mixed oxide fuel to be used in nuclear power reactors, conversion into non-weapons-grade form and also burial. It was expected that either side will start eliminating "declassified" amounts of plutonium in an amount of 34 tonnes. Russia converts weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear power plants.

http://tass.com/politics/903896


Why should they give away weapons grade plutonium since USA is obviously acting aggressive against them and their allies? This shouldn't come to anyone surprise.
I don't see this as a serious event rather as a warning. We should be worried if some of those two drops off the Start2 treaty (not that either of them honors the treaty, but just saying)

[Theinquisition]

Putins are gonna putin

[Cerilis]

I give it a least 5 more posts until Ulmita comes in here to pleasure himself to this.

Well, 12 posts...

[Felya]

*snip*

Dead Kennedys - "Kill the poor" playing over the bomb scene from Dr Strangelove:

https://youtu.be/TWrJAaUU1r8

[Provenance]

I highly doubt they were actively honoring this treaty in the first place. Next.

[NED funded]

http://tass.com/politics/903896


Why should they give away weapons grade plutonium since USA is obviously acting aggressive against them and their allies? This shouldn't come to anyone surprise.
I don't see this as a serious event rather as a warning. We should be worried if some of those two drops off the Start2 treaty (not that either of them honors the treaty, but just saying)

I'm confused. How does this affect american economic interests.

[Kellhound]

This really changes nothing, Russia has thousands of inactive warheads, as does the US.

[Ausr]

Well, 12 posts...

It was inevitable either way.

[Underverse]

Sigh...if he wanted to make Russia relevant, he would spend more time fighting corruption and building his nation and less time lashing out at rivals.

This is getting kind of pathetic. I respected Putin for a while but now it just seems like he's a crazy old man.

[Stelio Kontos]

Worthless treaty to begin with. Neither side had any intention of honoring it, most likely.

Both sides will demonize the other side, especially in the West where anything Russia does is villainous.

Business as usual.

[Aracs]

Does anyone of you read that agreement?

Agreement was about usage of 34 tons (from each side) of weapon plutonium as a fuel for nuclear reactors.
The fuel (called Metal-Oxides or MOX fuel) should contain mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides and should be suitable for wide range of reactors. So that 68 tons should be burnt inside of powerplants for electricity (and not be used to produce warheads). Start of the process has been agreed on 2018.
But here comes the funniest part. Russia built fab to produce MOX fuel and already testing that fuel. But US already spent over $12 bil (starting from 2007) to built it and last year financing has been closed (of course nothing was ready at that time). So technically this agreement can't be fulfilled by US until 2018 anymore. The agreement has been denounced de-facto by cut of the financing.
Now Putin, using that fact to show US to be unable to fulfill even signed and ratified agreements (which is actually true).

[Wulfey]

Gib respekt.

On a serious note Russians seem desperate IMO.

Oh yeah. The campaign in Syria wasn't working. Everyone is already in theater and the Jihadists aren't dead yet. Russia has resorted to siege warfare and devastation. Those aren't tactics of a campaign that is winning.