Rohlfing: U.S. and Russia Need to Get Back to Work

Tensions with Russia are high, and Russia's recent actions make it look more like an adversary than a partner. So why cooperate on nuclear materials and other nuclear issues?

"The world’s ability to prevent or defend against today’s nuclear threats is simply not possible without cooperation from Russia," wrote NTI President Joan Rohlfing in a new piece for The New York Times' Room for Debate series on the topic, "Should Washington and Moscow continue to work together to reduce nuclear stockpiles and cooperate to secure, or eliminate, weapons and nuclear materials despite the dispute around Russian actions in Ukraine?"

Cooperation in times of high tension has worked in the past, Rohlfing notes. On the issue of how the U.S. should move forward, she offers a to-do list for U.S. policymakers on the issue of U.S.-Russian cooperation on nuclear issues.

"To expect that nuclear weapons and materials can continue to proliferate, including among potentially unstable states, without being used one day is sheer folly," writes Rohlfing. "We can’t afford the security risk or the financial costs of a continued arms race. The U.S. and Russia must get back to work."

Read Rohlfing's piece.

Read the views of other contributors to The New York Times' Room for Debate series.