Lessons learned from the first U.S./Russian Federation joint tabletop exercise to prepare for conducting on-site inspections under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Abstract

A U.S./Russian Federation Joint Tabletop Exercise took place in Snezhinsk, Russia, from 19 to 24 October 1998, whose objectives were the following: (1) To simulate the actions of the Inspection Team (IT), including interactions with the inspected State Party (ISP), in order to examine different ways the United States and Russian Federation (RF) approach inspections and develop appropriate recommendations for the international community. (2) To identify ambiguities and contradictions in the interpretation of Treaty and Protocol provisions that might become apparent in the course of an inspection and that need clarification in connection with the development of Operational Manuals and on-site inspection (OSI) infrastructure. (3) To confirm the efficacy of using bilateral tabletop exercises to assist in developing an effective Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) verification regime. (4) To identify strong and weak points in the preparation and implementation methods of such exercises for the purpose of further improving possible future exercises.