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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n These events, and the generally arctic state of US-Russian relations, were the context for the Geneva summit meeting. Nevertheless, a few flashes of hope emerged from Biden and Putin\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n The US and Russia will send their ambassadors back to their posts, restoring that line of diplomatic communication. The joint US-Russian statement released after the summit says, \u201cThe recent extension of the New START Treaty exemplifies our commitment to nuclear arms control\u201d and promises future talks on arms control, as well as measures to reduce the risk of conflict.<\/p>\n Perhaps most significant, the joint statement contains the comment \u201cToday, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.\u201d Such language echoes that of the famous 1985 joint US-Soviet statement<\/a>, released following Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev\u2019s meeting in Geneva. The 1985 statement, coming at another time of great international tension, provided reassurance that both nations recognized the catastrophic threat of nuclear war and were determined to avoid it.<\/p>\n This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Also, the joint statement responds, intentionally or not, to an appeal made shortly before the summit by a coalition of American and Russian advocates for nuclear arms control.<\/p>\n The appeal<\/a>, organized<\/a> by the Arms Control Association, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and Global Affairs, called on Biden and Putin to reaffirm the 1985 Geneva statement on nuclear war. The appeal also urged both presidents to \u201ca bilateral strategic dialogue\u2026leading to further reduction of the nuclear risk hanging over the world and to the re-discovery of the road to a world free of nuclear weapons.\u201d While nothing so significant is currently planned, the promise of future talks is at least a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n Beyond these specific outcomes, the overall attitude both Biden and Putin expressed after the summit is encouraging. Each president was measured in his evaluation of the US-Russia relationship, being neither highly optimistic nor pessimistic about the future.<\/p>\n Biden told reporters<\/a> that he and Putin \u201cshare a unique responsibility to manage the relationship between two powerful and proud countries \u2014 a relationship that has to be stable and predictable\u2026[W]e should be able to cooperate where it\u2019s in our mutual interests.\u201d He also commented, \u201c[T]his is not about trust; this is about self-interest and verification of self-interest.\u201d<\/p>\n Putin similarly said<\/a>, about working with Biden, \u201cThis does not mean we have to peek into each other\u2019s souls, look into each other\u2019s eyes and swear eternal love and friendship \u2013 not at all. We defend the interests of our countries, our peoples, and our relations are always primarily pragmatic in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n While hardly effusive declarations of friendship, these presidential comments suggest at least a desire for a stable working relationship. The restrained rhetoric is actually reassuring, as hopes for a friendly US-Russian relationship are hardly realistic at present and would likely just be disappointed. Proceeding in a sober, pragmatic spirit is probably best.<\/p>\n What remains to be seen is whether these hopeful signs will lead to results. In particular, the promise of future arms control and risk reduction measures must be kept. Peace activists should not leave this matter purely to policymakers but should continue to push for a more stable US-Russian relationship. We need to lobby for further arms control agreements\u2014and, if feasible, a restoration of the Open Skies Treaty. We also need to lobby against sinking any more money into building or renovating nuclear weapons. The encouraging words of the Geneva summit need to be translated into action.<\/p>\n This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n ========================<\/p>\n For more of our posts on nuclear weapons, see:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n A Global Effort to Protect Life: The UN Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons<\/a><\/p>\n Nukes and the Pro-Life Christian<\/a>: A Conservative Takes a Second Look at the Morality of Nuclear Weapons<\/p>\n The Reynolds Family, the Nuclear Age and a Brave Wooden Boat<\/a><\/p>\n Nuclear Disarmament as a Social Justice Issue<\/a><\/p>\n “An Inferno That Even the Mind of Dante Could Not Envision\u201d: Martin Luther King on Nuclear Weapons<\/a><\/p>\n The Danger That Faces Us All: Hiroshima and Nagasaki after 75 Years<\/a><\/p>\n Catastrophe by Mistake: The Button<\/em> and the Danger of Accidental Nuclear War <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Affairs of a Handful of Natives\u201d: Nuclear Testing and Racism<\/a><\/p>\n Lethal from the Start: Uranium Mining\u2019s Danger to the Most Vulnerable<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\nHopeful Signs at the Summit<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Going Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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