4 September 2017
September 2nd, a group of representatives of the Pugwash movement led by its Secretary General Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, came to MGIMO to give a conference attended by students from the University’s English language Masters programs and those specializing in International Security and Non-Proliferation.
The guests were welcomed by MGIMO’s Vice-Rector for Graduate and International Programs, Andrey Baykov. Also attending the event were the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Pugwash Committee and Director of the MGIMO Center for Euro-Atlantic Security Alexander Nikitin, the Director of the PIR Center Albert Zulkharneev, the Special Advisor to the PIR Center Vladimir Orlov, the former Swedish Ambassador to the US Rolf Ekeus and the Chairman of the Swedish Pugwash Committee, Thomas Jonter.
Kicking off the meeting, Andrey Baykov noted that despite the current difficulties in Russian-American relations, it is essential to maintain a dialogue. MGIMO and the Middlebury Institute, with their dual MA Programs, contribute to productive bilateral exchanges by jointly training MA students in International Security and Non-Proliferation. Vladimir Orlov described the PIR Center’s activities in the sphere of non-proliferation of WMD and Alexander Nikitin spoke about the history and objectives of the Pugwash movement.
Paolo Cotta-Ramusino shared his vision and assessment of the current risks posed by nuclear weapons on the international arena, noting that their very existence is a threat and criticizing the viewpoint that WMD can bring about a strategic stability in the international system. Other speakers made presentations on the role of civil society in controlling nuclear weapons, on the activities of Swedish organizations for non-proliferation and on the prospects of creating a new MA devoted to non-proliferation.
— See the MGIMO web-site for more photos and russian version
