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One of the most heated discussions during the conference was how to prevent further nuclear build up in the Middle East - especially with regard to Iran and Israel. This topic was adressed again in an extra forum chaired by Andrea Nüsse (Tagesspiegel, Berlin). Particularly the question of how the US and Russia should behave towards Iran raised a controversial debate amongst the panelists (Emily Landau, Arzu Celalifer Ekinici and Marc Berthold) as you can see in the video bellow.

Forum 1: Emily Landau, Senior Research Fellow and Director, Arms Control and Regional Security Program, Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv, Arzu Celalifer Ekinci, Middle East and Iranian Affairs Expert, International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), Ankara and Marc Berthold, Head of Department, Foreign and Security Policy, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin.

Iran and Israel where again adressed in the closing panel "Getting to Global Zero? - The Future of the Non-Proliferation Regime beyond 2010", chaired by Ralf Fücks (President, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin).  Likewise, the states India and Pakistan where discussed as emerging nuclear powers, because a crucial question for the panelists (Jürgen Trittin, John Steinbrunner and Arundhati Ghose) was how nuclear armed non-NPT member states could be included in a global disarmament regime.

Closing Panel: Jürgen Trittin, Deputy Parliamentary Chairman, Alliance 90/ The Greens, Berlin, John Steinbruner, Director, Center for International and Security Studies, University of Maryland (CISSM) and Arundhati Ghose, India's former Ambassador to the United Nations, New Delhi.

Related Materials from Atlantic Community:

• Böll Conference Videos: Saving the Non-Proliferation Regime
• Böll Conference Videos: Dual Use? Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons
• First Day of Böll Nonproliferation Conference: Recorded Videos

September 30, 2009

Maggie Halley, NYU, Bronze Contributor (12)

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Both Russia and the United States do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons - that much is clear. The countries differ largely in the extent to which they are prepared to stop Iran from acquiring them. At this point, the issue of a nuclear Iran seems to be a much bigger problem for the United States than it is for Russia. Russia's recent argument that Iran's missile test does not boost the sanctions case highlights this discrepancy - countries like Russia and China don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons but they also know that these weapons will not really hurt them or their interests, whereas more sanctions might hurt their interests. Another thing to consider is how will Russia react to President Obama's recent comments about a mutual nuclear disarmament resolution? Russia's perception of its own national security and power is still very much tied up in its nuclear capabilities. So while the US views a gradual reduction of our nuclear weapons as a step that would up our chances of eventual talks/cooperation with countries like Iran and North Korea ("see, we are getting rid of our weapons, why don't you abandon proliferation too?"), it is quite possible that Russia does not see it this way at all. This might significantly color Russia's willingness to cooperate on Iran.

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