However, the world's three powers must cooperate to keep the spirit of the NPT alive. Eisenhorn's story points to some points of cooperation that might lead us out of the woods. He recommends low-level bilateral commissions such as the Bill Clinton administration's Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission and the George W. Bush administration's U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialog. These commissions would discuss nonproliferation, as arms control is tough in times of tensions. He also recommends engaging with Iran on the JCPOA and working with China and Russia on drawing down North Korea's nuclear arsenals. In this process, North Korea will have to accept a step-by-step program of denuclearization, China will have to lean on North Korea for the country to accept a deal, and Russia will have to bandwagon with the Chinese to make a deal possible. The most possible point of cooperation among the three powers is cooperation on proliferation, as no nation-state wants a terrorist faction to possess nuclear materials of any kind.
The struggle will be a hard one. However, keeping the spirit of the NPT is worth all the effort we can muster.
Jason Sibert is the executive director of the Peace Economy Project in St Louis.
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