31.07.1991 START I

Григорий Явлинский:

Президент СССР Михаил Горбачёв и президент США Джордж Буш-старший на пресс-конференции в Москве 31 июля 1991 года // REUTERS

On July 31, 1991, in Moscow, the presidents of the Soviet Union and the United States signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I). The historical significance of this event is becoming especially clear now, as we see how quickly a security system can collapse when political will and the capacity for dialogue disappear.

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Returning to dialogue, restoring arms control, and creating a new international security system is not a sign of weakness or a concession by one side to the other. This is the only way to preserve peace in an era when the cost of error has become too high.