Presentation of the RISK Report in Moscow, 24 October 2019

On 24 October, Dr. Wolfgang Zellner, together with the other authors, presented the “RISK report” in Moscow. The study, entitled “Reducing the Risks of Conventional Deterrence in Europe: Arms Control in the NATO-Russia Contact Zones,” was prepared in 2018 by a team of international experts, including Evgeny Buzhinsky, former Head of the International Treaty Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Colonel Wolfgang Richter of the SWP and former Head of the Military Section of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the OSCE, and Prof. Andrei Zagorski of the Primakov Institute for the World Economy and International Relations.

The “RISK report” examines how the risks of conventional deterrence can be reduced, particularly in Europe. The presentation in Moscow took place in a public library and was hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). More than 30 people attended, including representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry and several small media outlets. While the report was received favorably, the question of the role of the US was raised again and again – an issue that remains central to foreign policy considerations in Russia.