OdCNP and FRS joint workshop "War on Ukraine and the Nuclear World Order"
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- Published: Wednesday, 22 February 2023 22:51
On February 6-7, 2023, Odesa Center for Nonproliferation, in cooperation with FRS (Foundation for Strategic Research), conducted the workshop "War on Ukraine and the Nuclear World Order". Choosing the timely topic, our primary goal was to explore the fundamental challenges of the third nuclear age. The two-day workshop, held in Paris, brought together notable experts from the field who created a ground for insightful discussion and fruitful debate.
During the first day of the workshop, the issues of testing the capabilities and limits of nuclear deterrence in the framework of Russia's invasion of Ukraine were raised. Philippe Bertoux, Strategic Affairs Director at French MFA, gave a keynote speech in which he turned to the problems of current military realities and the latest arms control architecture. His remarkable speech set the tone for further discussion and created needed terms for the two parts of the session, "Deterrence and Arms Control".
The first part of the session was predominantly focused on the nuclear dimension of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the prediction of prospective opportunities for arms control, and the inefficiency of Russia's deterrent messages. The speakers of this part of the dialogue were Dr. Bruno Tertrais, the FRS Deputy Director; William Alberque, the IISS Director of Strategy, Technology, and Arms Control; and Dr. Polina Sinovets, the OdCNP Head.
Melanie Rosselet, Director for Strategy and Policy at CEA; Dr. Corentin Brustlein, Deputy Director for Defense Strategy at Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy; Benjamin Hautecouverture, the FRS Senior Research Fellow; and Dr. Nikolai Sokov, the VCDNP Senior Fellow, questioned Russia's deterrence, assessed the current risk of nuclear weapons use by Russia and manipulative blackmail around its nuclear potential.
The experts' discussions during the second day shed light on the broader perspective of the issues of arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament. In particular, the first session, moderated by Margarita Kalinina-Pohl, Senior Program Manager at CNS MIIS, was focused on global and regional challenges. This session emphasized the regional connection between nuclear-related issues and each region's distinct challenges.
The workshop proceeded with the session on Europen Security. This part of the agenda proved the existence of the tied influence of Russia's war on Ukraine on the international security architecture. The workshop wrapped up with a session on the strategic challenges for nuclear security, which was focused on the safety and security zones around Zaporizhzhia NPP and IAEA policies to prevent any nuclear catastrophe in the context of the war escalation.
This second day of the workshop was filled with presentations from Jennie Gromoll (Senior Advisor at the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the US Department of State), Camille Grand (Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations), Dr. Olga Brusylovska (Chair of the Department of International Relations at ONU) and other eminent representatives of international think tanks and schools. OdCNP research fellows Dr. Iryna Maksymenko, Dr. Tetyana Melnyk and Valeriia Hesse presented their topics’ outcomes during the sessions.
During the workshop, the selected students had a chance to ask questions and discover more about nuclear-related initiatives. Our workshop, together with FRS, combined OdCNP's primary goals as it is essential to educate the future generation of young experts in the field.
We also thank our partners for their support. In particular, the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy for sponsoring the reception during the workshop, where the OdCNP gender champion Ali Alkis marked the importance of gender equality in the field.
