IFSH was the co-sponsor of two roundtables on ways to reduce the role of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. On 5-6 March more than[nbsp] 30 diplomats, NATO officials and experts met at the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS) in Paris to discuss “NATO’s future deterrence posture: What can nuclear weapons contribute?”
Seminar participants particularly debated the relation of French nuclear weapons policy and NATO.
On 12 March, more than 70 participants took part in a conference on “Tactical nuclear weapons and the NATO-Russia dialogue”. The event took place at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) in Moscow and was supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Moscow office. The high level meeting was attended by a number of officials from various NATO countries, including the German Commissioner for Arms Control and Disarmament, Ambassador Rolf Nikel, the Director of the Department of Security and Disarmament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mikhail I. Ulyanov and senior US officials.
Both events took place against the background of the 20-21 May NATO summit, when the Alliance is expected to produce a Deterrence and Defense Posture Review report. The seminars were part of a series of roundtables that have been organized by the Arms Control Association and the British American Security Information Council under a joint project, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to reduce the role of tactical nuclear weapons in European security. More information on the project can be found here.