Vladimir Orlov’s Lecture at MGIMO on the Results of the X NPT Review Conference

In fact, before the start of the Сonference, we faced the dilemma: either to discuss the essential issues of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, or to be engaged in a blame game. It would seem that blame game is not so interesting – you can learn this already in your first year of bachelor’s studies. It is much more interesting to seek compromises on the nodal problems of nonproliferation, and the Russian delegation was determined to do this. The key problem the nuclear nonproliferation regime is still facing is how to ensure the universality of the treaty, because some unofficial nuclear states, such as Israel, are still outside the Treaty, which cannot but alarm their neighbors. The second problem is the issue of arms control, both bilateral (between Russia and the United States) and multilateral with the involvement of France, Great Britain and China. And finally, there are issues of peaceful use of nuclear energy. However, our partners, instead of discussing the whole range of pressing problems, from the very beginning chose a different strategy – the strategy of defaming Russia,

Orlov, Vladimir A.

Editor-in-Chief

On November 2, 2022, MGIMO University hosted a lecture by the Director of PIR Center, Professor of MGIMO Dr. Vladimir Orlov on the Results of the X NPT Review Conference in 2022 as part of the scientific, educational and cultural festival International Relations Department Week. The lecture was moderated by the Dean of International Relations Faculty of MGIMO University Dr. Andrey Sushentsov.

In the first part of his speech, Dr. Vladimir Orlov spoke about the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and the nonproliferation regime as a whole, highlighted the main threats and challenges to the regime today. In the second part of the speech, the results of the X NPT Review Conference, which was held from August 1 to 26 in New York, were summed up. Dr. Vladimir Orlov, who participated in the X NPT Review Conference as a member of the official Russian delegation, spoke about the course of the Conference, the main difficulties faced by official delegations, and also stressed the reasons for not accepting the final document at the conference.

Dr. Vladimir Orlov also highlighted the work of PIR Center delegation at the Conference, positively assessed the cooperation with the official Russian delegation on the margins of the X NPT RevCon. The students were also shown a video from the organization’s archive with a speech by the President-Designate of the Conference Amb. Gustavo Zlauvinen at the final session of the X NPT RevCon on August 26, 2022.

In his final remarks, Dr. Vladimir Orlov recalled the start of the application process for the Dual-Degree M.A. Program in WMD Nonproliferation, Nuclear Policy and Global Security, implemented by PIR Center and MGIMO University in cooperation with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, USA. The new enrollment in the M.A. Dual Degree Program in Nonproliferation Studies opens on November 15, 2022. Follow the news about the new competitive selection on the website of PIR Center, MGIMO and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey.

After the lecture, the students had an opportunity to ask their questions. As Dr. Vladimir Orlov noted, “all the questions were good and thoughtful”. The questions touched upon a wide range of nuclear nonproliferation issues: from the possibility of the redeployment of US nuclear weapons in the Republic of Korea due to the escalating tensions around Taiwan to the AUCUS factor, from the prospects of the next Review Conference to the specifics of the American nuclear doctrine. The students were also interested in the practical side of work in the field of nonproliferation: what knowledge is primarily needed, how deeply it is necessary to study the technical and military aspects of nuclear issues.

After the Q&A session, the authors of the best questions were awarded with PIR Center monograph, Russian-American Nuclear Nonproliferation Dialogue: Lessons Learned and Road Ahead. Earlier in September, the second edition of the monograph came out in the authoritative Palgrave Macmillan publishing house (part of the Springer publishing group). You can place an order for an electronic or paper version of the book on the website of Palgrave Macmillan.

The lecture by Dr. Vladimir Orlov will be available on the PIR Center education and training platform NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD.  Follow our news!