At The Public Lecture Of PIR Center, Prospects For The Upcoming 10th NPT Review Conference Were Discussed

MOSCOW. NOVEMBER 9, 2021. PIR PRESS. “The NPT Review Сonference is an opportunity to strengthen the Treaty. throughout my consultations with NPT States Parties, I have heard nothing but support for the Treaty, as well as a common desire to have a successful and meaningful outcome that would help tackling the challenges to the nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation regime. I am always happy to have discussions with students and young specialists – they are the future experts who are going to continue our work and the future of the regime. it was my pleasure to have such lively and substantive discussions. Many thanks to PIR Center for organizing it,”— H.E. Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, President-designate of the X Review Conference for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

On November 1, PIR Center within the Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy and WMD Nonproliferation, developed jointly by MGIMO Russia, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS, USA), and PIR Center, held an open lecture on the topic: «Prospects for the upcoming 10th Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference». Our invited keynote speaker was H.E. Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, President-designate of the X Review Conference for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The event was held under the auspices of the PIR Center project to create a platform NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD, a single scientific, educational and communication portal for the current and future generation of experts in the field of international security.

The lecture was open for broad audience and held online. Along with PIR Center staff and students of the Dual Degree M.A. Program Global Security, Nuclear Policy and WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO-MIIS-PIR Center), the lecture was attended by students and colleagues from leading Russian universities, PIR Center’s regional partners, representatives of government agencies, young international specialists.

H.E. Dmitry Feoktistov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Argentina, welcomed the participants of the lecture and stressed that the Russian Federation strives to preserve the integrity of the NPT, as well as to strengthen the nonproliferation regime in the world through dialogue and consensus-based decisions.

H.E. Gustavo Zlauvinen noted that the international situation is becoming increasingly tense, and the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons in the world is underestimated. Relations between the countries possessing nuclear weapons continue to worsen, and at the same time these states are qualitatively improving their arsenals, and in some cases expanding them. Nuclear doctrines are becoming increasingly opaque and financially costly. The rhetoric about the possibility of using nuclear weapons reflects the changed views that a nuclear war can be won

During Q&A session, participants discussed the work of the upcoming NPT Review Conference, nuclear arms control in the Middle East in the context of the NPT, the relationship between the five nuclear powers and their possible negotiating strategies at the conference, regional aspect of nuclear nonproliferation in general, and much more.

Participants of the lecture comments on the lecture as follows.

“A very informative lecture. The answers to the participants’ questions were especially interesting. Almost all topical issues in connection with the upcoming Review Conference were covered. Such events, where the potential contribution of the Review Conference is explained, are very important today, when new circumstances arise that cast doubt on the prospects of the NPT. This is China’s build-up of its ICBM arsenal, and the agreement on the creation of nuclear submarines for Australia,” — Oleg Krivolapov, Ph.D. in Political Science, Institute of USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISKRAN).

“The lecture showed that the H.E. Ambassador, having extensive experience in working on the issues of the future conference, sees well the difficulties he will have to face in January next year. At the same time, I liked his generally optimistic forecast on the results of the Review Conference, which is partly based on his intensive consultations on the eve of it,” — Viktor Slipchenko, Consultant, Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS).

“It was a great opportunity to learn the inner workings of the Review Conference, understand the upcoming challenges the NPT faces, as well as the possible solutions that the international community may find. Such insights from His Eminence always help the research community to gain a better perspective of the future plans and workings of the NPT review process, ” — Soumojit Mukherjee, student MEPhI, Russian Nuclear Education Ambassador.

“Our lecture with H.E. Zlauvinen provided a timely opportunity for us to apply what we have studied throughout the semester regarding the NPT RevCon ecosystem and history. It was fascinating to hear directly from the Ambassador himself how he views his role in the upcoming RevCon – not as the individual who will decide the structure or outcome of the RevCon, but rather as the facilitator seeking success by maximizing convergence and minimizing divergence among the NPT member states. I appreciated H.E. Zlauvinen’s observation that the third pillar of the NPT, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, is still critically undervalued, especially since we have been exploring this topic in depth as a part of our studies. Additionally, H.E. Zlauvinen emphasized his commitment to inclusivity at the upcoming RevCon; by including a plurality of perspectives, encouraging the participation of young people, and seeking the insights of civil society. For me, his lecture reinforced what an exciting time it is to be a student in the nonproliferation sphere,” — Hannah Elizabeth Harris, a first-year student of the Dual Degree MA Program in WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO-MISS-PIR Center)

“It is no secret that the 2020 NPT RevCon is going to be tense and so we as students didn’t shy away from asking difficult questions. In talking to H.E. Zlauvinen, who will preside over the Conference, it was clear that the RevCon is in the capable hands of someone who has the knowledge of the most pressing issues today and the diplomatic tact to move an often difficult process forward. As students and the next generation, we can’t help but be deeply thankful to learn from such a skilled diplomat and we wish H.E. Zlauvinen, and the conference, the success we know is so deeply needed in our unstable world today,” — Edward Chon Kendall, a first-year student of the Dual Degree MA Program in WMD Nonproliferation (MGIMO-MISS-PIR Center)

The recording of the event you can find here. It will also be published on the scientific and educational platform NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD.

For all questions related to the Dual Degree MA Program in Nonproliferation Studies, and also on participation in the events of the PIR Center and materials under the auspices of NONPROLIFERATION.WORLD, please contact PIR Center Educational & Training Program Team by e-mail edu@pircenter.org.