Fabio Formaggio
Under the 1988 agreement between the former USSR and the USA, within 24 hours of the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) the states are required to inform each other. And in 2021 Russia’s Duma (the lower house of its parliament) extended until 2030 a Russia China agreement to notify each other of missile launches.
Why It Matters
The agreement, signed during the 1988 Moscow Summit between presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan of the USSR and USA, was a high point for nuclear arms control and among steps to eliminate the risk of outbreak of nuclear war, “in particular, as a result of misinterpretation, miscalculation, or accident.” The presidents also finalized the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) to eliminate medium and short range missiles, from which the US subsequently withdrew in 2019.
The text of the launch notification agreement expresses the goal of the two states to “reduce and ultimately eliminate the risk of outbreak of nuclear war, in particular, as a result of misinterpretation, miscalculation, or accident. Believing that a “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” The START I Treaty signed in 1991 also contains an obligation to notify any flight test of an ICBM or SLBM.
Further Materials:
https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/treaties/launch-notification.html
https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/avc/trty/187150.htm
