A plea to the presidents of Russia and America

This December will mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the treaty between the erstwhile Soviet Union and United States on the elimination of intermediate and shorter-range missiles. This was the start of the process of radically cutting back nuclear arsenals, which was continued with the 1991 and 2010 strategic arms reduction treaties and the agreements reducing tactical nuclear weapons.

The scale of the process launched in 1987 is evidenced by the fact that, as Russia and the US reported to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2015, 80 per cent of the nuclear weapons accumulated during the Cold War have been decommissioned and destroyed. Another important fact is that, despite the recent serious deterioration in bilateral relations, both sides have been complying with the strategic weapons agreements.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, however, is now in jeopardy. It has proved to be the most vulnerable link in the system of limiting and reducing weapons of mass destruction. There have been calls on both sides for scrapping the agreement.

Therefore, I am making an appeal to the presidents of Russia and the US. Relations between the two nations are in a severe crisis. A way out must be sought, and there is one well-tested means available for accomplishing this: A dialogue based on mutual respect.

It will not be easy to cut through the logjam of issues on both sides. But neither was our dialogue easy three decades ago. It had its critics and detractors, who tried to derail it. In the final analysis, it was the political will of the two nations' leaders that proved decisive. And that is what's needed now. This is what our two countries' citizens and people everywhere expect from the presidents of Russia and the US.

I call upon Russia and the US to prepare and hold a full-scale summit on the entire range of issues. It is far from normal that the presidents of major nuclear powers meet merely "on the margins" of international gatherings. I hope that the process of preparing a proper summit is in the works even now.

I believe that the summit meeting should focus on the problems of reducing nuclear weapons and strengthening strategic stability. For should the system of nuclear arms control collapse, as may well happen if the INF Treaty is scrapped, the consequences, both direct and indirect, will be disastrous.

The closer nuclear weapons are deployed to borders, the more dangerous they are: There is less time for a decision and greater risk of catastrophic error. And what will happen to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the nuclear arms race begins anew? I am afraid it will be ruined.

If, however, the INF Treaty is saved, it will send a powerful signal to the world that the two biggest nuclear powers are aware of their responsibilities and take their obligations seriously. Everyone will breathe a sigh of relief, and relations between Russia and the US will finally get off the ground again.

We are living in a troubled world. It is particularly disturbing that relations between the major nuclear powers, Russia and the US, have become a serious source of tension and hostage to domestic politics. It is time to return to sanity. I am sure that even inveterate opponents of normalizing US-Russian relations will not dare to object to the two presidents. These critics have no arguments on their side, for the very fact that the INF Treaty has been in effect for 30 years proves that it serves the security interests of our two countries and of the world.

In any undertaking, it is important to take the first step. In 1987, the first step in the difficult but vitally important process of ridding the world of nuclear weapons was the INF Treaty. Today, we face a dual challenge of preventing the collapse of the system of nuclear agreements and reversing the downward spiral in US-Russian relations. It is time to take the first step.

The writer was leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991