The NPT and the Origins of NATO’s Nuclear Sharing Arrangements

Summary:

In early 2017 Russia accused the United States and NATO Allies of violating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons by arguing that NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements are not permitted under the Treaty. On the contrary, the historical record shows that the text of the NPT was crafted by the US and the USSR, in close cooperation, precisely so that NATO's arrangements would be compatible with Treaty obligations – while also constraining the ability of non-nuclear states to acquire nuclear weapons.

This paper shows how the US and USSR negotiated Articles I and II – the critical parts of the NPT pertaining to nuclear weapons proliferation. Ultimately, the NPT proved successful because the final text proved satisfactory to alleviate the concerns of all parties involved – the superpowers, NATO, the Warsaw Pact and the neutral non-aligned countries.

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