What is the future of arms control?
The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee will take evidence from the former Deputy Secretary General of  NATO, a former UK Secretary of State for Defence and leading experts on arms control security.
The Committee will ask about the importance of the Open Skies Treaty, the prospects for the extension of New START and the effectiveness of the UK Government’s advocacy on these issues.
Meeting details
At 3:00pm: Oral evidence
Inquiry
Open Skies and New START
Senior Policy Director at Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation
Research Director, Conflict, Science & Transformation and Director, International Security Programme at Chatham House
Founder and President at Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation
At 4:00pm: Oral evidence
Inquiry
Open Skies and New START
former Secretary of State for Defence and Vice-Chair at Nuclear Threat Initiative
former Deputy Secretary General at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Possible questions
- How important is the Open Skies Treaty to strategic stability, and what are its most important provisions?
- How valuable will the Open Skies Treaty be to the remaining states parties if the US leaves as planned in November?
- What is your assessment of the likelihood that New START may be extended? How significant were the recent talks between the US and Russia on this issue?
- If New START is not extended, what would be the impact on the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to be held in 2021?
- What actions can the UK Government take to encourage the US to reconsider its decision to leave the Open Skies Treaty, and to urge both the US and Russia to extend New START? How effective has UK advocacy on these issues been, and what more could be done?