Alissa Tabirian
NS&D Monitor
1/22/2016

Assistant Secretary of State Frank Rose on Tuesday commemorated the re-establishment of a secure communications link between the United States and Ukraine. The Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NRRC) government-to-government connection is intended to support “certain notification requirements of arms control and confidence building agreements and commitments,” the State Department said. 

Originally established in 2001, the link stopped working several years ago due to technical problems, the State Department said by email. The U.S. and Ukraine then “used diplomatic channels as a substitute and recently decided to restore the link,” it said. 

The U.S. and Ukraine will exchange Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty notifications through the link, which is expected to later include notification requirements for other agreements and may also be used for the secure transmission of “messages of vital national importance in times of crisis,” the State Department said. Messages transmitted and received through the link include notifications of inspections, exchanges of weapons data, and notifications of exercises, as required by individual treaties.

The State Department said information technology specialists installed encryption devices and software in the Verification Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, tested the equipment, and trained 10 Ukrainian military personnel on its use. The State Department also plans to train other Ukrainian NRRC staff as necessary over the next two years to use the system.

“A secure, direct bilateral link with Ukraine is extremely valuable to both parties, especially in today’s fast-moving and saturated information environment,” the State Department said. “This new 24/7 secure link is all the more important at a time when Russia has occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory,” it said, adding that “Ukraine’s aspirations are our aspirations.”

The NRRC was established in 1988 to operate a direct communications link between the U.S. and the Soviet Union but has since added international bilateral and multilateral links for communications on approximately 15 arms control and security agreements. These include the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the New START treaty.