Deep Cuts Briefing on Missile Defense
Deep Cuts Briefing to Launch the new Working Paper on "Missile Defense and the Offense-Defense Relationship"
Watch the full briefing here

REGISTER NOW: Briefing on Missile Defense and the Offense-Defense Relationship
Missile Defense and the Offense-Defense Relationship
Launch Event
Deep Cuts Working Paper
on
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
at
10:30 AM Washington, D.C.
04:30 PM Berlin
05:30 PM Moscow
Missile defenses remain an obstacle to U.S.-Russia agreement on a new nuclear arms control accord. Both sides will need to address the offense-defense relationship in the Strategic Stability Dialogue, agreed by President Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin at their June 2021 Geneva summit.
A new and comprehensive Deep Cuts Commission Working Paper by Andrey Baklitskiy, James Cameron and Steven Pifer takes a deep dive at the problem of missile defenses. The three renowned experts review how missile defenses affect strategic stability and offer practical suggestions to limit the uncertainty over future missile defense capabilities.
What could such measures look like? How can Russia and the United States avoid new arms races? At what point should China be brought into discussions on the offensive-defense relationship? How would a possible Russia-U.S. agreement affect NATO missile defenses? What role can Europeans play in managing offense-defense relationships?
The event will provide an opportunity to discuss with the three authors these questions as well as the conclusions and recommendations of their Deep Cuts Working paper.
The discussion will be moderated by Maren Vieluf, researcher at the IFSH Berlin office.
Please register in advance for this webinar:
https://ifsh-de.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fI7VgssERm-kaarv7zCQTg
NEW Deep Cuts Working Paper #14 Missile Defense and the Offense-Defense Relationship
Missile defenses remain an obstacle to U.S.-Russia agreement on a new nuclear arms control accord. Both sides will need to address the offense-defense relationship in the Strategic Stability Dialogue, agreed by President Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin at their June 2021 Geneva summit.
Read the Deep Cuts Working Paper here

Launch of the new Young Deep Cuts Commission
The new Young Deep Cuts Commission (YDCC) is a group of twelve young arms control experts from Germany, Russia, and the United States. The Young Deep Cuts Commissioners come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds and share a commitment to improving international peace and security through arms control and disarmament. The Young Deep Cuts Commission develops fresh ideas to strengthen and revitalize nuclear arms control and disarmament and promotes them through publications and outreach activities.
Learn more about the work of the YDCC and keep up with its latest activities on Twitter: @YoungDeepCuts

Statement by the Deep Cuts Commission - Turning the tide: NATO, the United States and Russia need to agree on an ambitious arms control agenda
Two summits in June 2021 will set the course for discussions on nuclear arms control.
After a series of arms control setbacks in recent years, the upcoming NATO summit and meeting of the leaders of the United States and Russia can and should pave the way for meaningful talks designed to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, lead to reductions in the role and number of nuclear weapons, and avoid a new nuclear and conventional arms race in Europe.
With the New START Treaty extended by five years, NATO members and Russia have an opportunity to re-calibrate their arms control ambitions and take crucial decisions on the format, scope, and goals of future talks on nuclear weapons reductions.
Read the Deep Cuts Commission statement here

REGISTER NOW: Briefing on the NATO summit, the US-Russian summit and the future of nuclear arms control
Setting the stage:
The NATO summit, the US-Russian summit and the future of nuclear arms control
on
Monday, 7 June 2021
at
10:00 – 11:00 AM Washington, D.C.
4:00 ‑ 5:00 PM Berlin
5:00 ‑ 6:00 PM Moscow
Please register here and you will receive the Zoom ID and password.
Two summits in June will set the course for discussions on nuclear arms control. NATO Heads of State and Government will gather on 14 June in Brussels to initiate the process leading to a new Alliance Strategic Concept. Two days later, on 16 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden will meet in Geneva and discuss how to restore predictability and stability in Russian-US relations, including through new bilateral Strategic Stability talks. With the New START treaty extended, NATO members and Russia have to re-calibrate their arms control ambitions and take crucial decisions on the format, scope and goals of future talks on nuclear weapons reductions.
What are the implications of these meetings for future discussions on nuclear arms control? What can and what should we expect for future nuclear reductions? How are discussions on the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture linked to the US-Russia bilateral track? How can Europeans ensure that Washington and Moscow take their interests into account?
One week ahead of the NATO summit, we want to discuss these and related questions with three distinguished members of the Deep Cuts Commission, namely
- Sarah Bidgood, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies,
- Ambassador Walter J. Schmid, former Ambassador with residence in Moscow, former Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany for Disarmament and Arms Control, and
- Andrei Zagorski, Head of the Department of Disarmament and Conflict Resolution at IMEMO.
The session will be moderated by Oliver Meier, Senior Researcher at the IFSH Berlin office.
Please note that this briefing will be recorded and published.
Statement by the Deep Cuts Commission: The United Kingdom’s damaging decision to build up its nuclear force and how to respond
The Deep Cuts Commission believes the United Kingdom’s new nuclear policies to increase the limit of its overall nuclear stockpile to 260 warheads and to make its nuclear posture more opaque complicate efforts to advance multilateral nuclear arms control and nonproliferation efforts. To reduce and reverse the negative implications of the changes to the United Kingdom’s nuclear policies, nuclear weapons states collectively should take steps to support Russian and US arms control efforts and intensify discussions on nuclear risk reduction.
Read the Deep Cuts Commission Statement here

Statement by the Deep Cuts Commission: Preserve the Open Skies Treaty
The Open Skies Treaty is under imminent threat. Deep Cuts Commission calls on the current treaty-parties and the United States to work to preserve the accord and its benefits for European and trans-Atlantic security. The Open Skies Treaty remains a valuable confidence- and security-building measure to reduce the risk of misunderstanding or miscalculation. Read the Deep Cuts Commission Statement here
