TOP NEWS Europe and the New Nuclear-Arms Race Project Syndicate Russia Racing To Develop New Missile Systems To Counter US By 2021 The Hill Can Europe’s new financial channel save the Iran nuclear deal? Financial Times Middle East Can Europe’s new financial channel save the Iran nuclear deal? Financial Times2/5/2019 Germany, France and the UK have created a special financial channel to enable trade with Iran to continue despite the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran. The new mechanism, unveiled by the so-called E3 last week, is an attempt to save a landmark international nuclear deal after Donald Trump pulled the US out of it last May. Multilateral Arms Control Merkel And Abe Meet For Talks On Trade And Nuclear Arms Control Deutsche Welle2/4/2019 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to toast a new free trade deal between Japan and the EU. The pair were also expected to address nuclear arms control. US, Russia Back Off Nuclear Treaty. Is Arms Control Coming To An End? Christian Science Monitor2/4/2019 The demise of the INF Treaty in and of itself does not necessarily spell the end of broader nuclear arms reduction efforts, arms control experts say. But if the INF withdrawal turns out to be more than a one off, and is instead another step on a path to a post-arms-control world, they add, then global security indeed just got riskier. East Asia U.S. Envoy To Hold Talks In North Korea On Wednesday Reuters2/4/2019 The U.S. special envoy for North Korea will meet with his North Korean counterpart on Wednesday in Pyongyang to prepare for a summit later this month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. U.S., South Korea Break Impasse Over Military Alliance’s Costs Wall Street Journal2/5/2019 The U.S. and South Korea struck an agreement in principle over the costs of their military alliance, ending a monthlong dispute that had loomed over President Trump’s planned second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. U.S.-North Korea Talks Aim For Increasingly Unlikely Denuclearization Axios2/4/2019 A second meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been tentatively set for later in February. But recent assessments suggest North Korea remains “unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities,” as director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told senators last week Russia/FSU/Europe Russia Racing To Develop New Missile Systems To Counter US By 2021 The Hill2/5/2019 Russia announced Tuesday that it is planning to develop two new land-based missile launch systems in response to President Trump’s announcement last week that the U.S. will withdraw from a landmark nuclear weapons treaty. Russia must create land-based hypersonic missiles with 500km+ range by 2020 – MoD RT2/5/2019 In response to the US suspending the INF treaty, Russia is boosting its land-based missile development. Moscow wants hypersonic missiles of 500km+ range and a land-based version of the Kalibr cruise missile, ready by 2020. Opinion and Analysis The U.S. and Russia Are Sleepwalking Toward Nuclear Disaster Politico Magazine 2/1/2019 – Sam Nunn and Ernie Moniz Friday morning’s announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that America will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty because of Russian violations is the latest wake-up call that relations between the world’s nuclear superpowers are dangerously off the rails Europe and the New Nuclear-Arms Race Project Syndicate2/4/2019 – Sigmar Gabriel With the near-certain demise of the US-Russian Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Europe is entering a potentially dangerous period. It must now try to apply some kind of brake to the new nuclear-arms race and gain time for negotiations.