Trunov Philipp Olegovich – Ph.D. in Political Sciences, Senior Researcher, INION RAN
In the Euro-Atlantic community, Germany is an emerging power which has no right to produce, possess and have at its disposal all key types of weapons of mass destruction. The article analyzes the strategic line of Germany in the current arms control crisis. The paper shows the historical determination of the voluntary non-nuclear status of Germany, which was defined in the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (1990). It is noted that this prohibition became a prerequisite for the compensatory strategic line of the FRG to prevent an increase in the number of states possessing weapons of mass destruction. In this regard, the efforts of the FRG to prepare and conclude an agreement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, 2015) for the Iranian nuclear program are examined. Germany joined the negotiation process in the framework of the format «Е3» (the United Kingdom, Germany, France); the use of the scheme «E3+3» instead of «5+1», aimed at leveling of the nonnuclear status of the FRG, which, unlike other members of the «Iranian six», does not have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The article also considers Germany’s efforts to maintain the JCPOA and its strategy after the US withdrawal from this agreement. The successes and failures of the FRG (essentially derived from the US economic sanctions against Iran) in preserving the «nuclear deal» with Iran are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics and prospects of using the «Е3» format. Expressing concern over US plans to withdraw from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), Germany at the same time consistently criticized Russia for not complying with the terms of this treaty. The article emphasizes the determinism of Germany’s refusal of the Russian initiative to introduce a moratorium on the deployment of INF arms in Europe and considers possible scenarios of the FRG’s actions in the event of a crisis with prolongation of the START-III treaty taking into account Germany’s position regarding the signing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Germany, non-nuclear status, JCPOA, INF Treaty, E3, arms control, NATO, Trump.
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