2022 marks 60 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis. What can be learnt from this historic incident for tackling the present-day international political tensions?

The ongoing Russia Ukraine war has raised concerns around the world. It has often been cited as the most dangerous time after the Second World War. The US led NATO and Russia are confronting each other and the possibility of a nuclear war is increasing day by day. This has brought into debate the similarity between the 1962 Cuban missile crisis and the ongoing Russia Ukraine war.

Cuban missile crisis:

• The Cuban missile crisis was the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
• The Cuban crisis exposed the dangers of brinkmanship and brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war.
• It is marked as the world’s closest approach to a global nuclear war.
• Cuba was a socialist country and was under military invasion by the USA.
• The USA deployed Jupiter nuclear missiles in Turkey in 1959, threatening the security of the USSR.
• The USSR put their missiles in Cuba to encircle the USA and bargain for removing the missile from Europe.
• The crisis came to an end after the intervention of the United Nations and efforts to halt the arms race were made.

Significance of Cuban missile crisis in present context:

• The US president recently invoked revisiting the Cuban missile crisis.
• President Putin cited the 1945 US bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a precedent.
• The Ukraine conflict is putting nuclear deterrence to the test.
• Russia sees itself at war with the nuclear armed NATO.
• The Ukraine crisis may trigger another arms race and the countries may consider nuclear weapons as a security necessity.

Lessons to be learned:

• In the current situation, the United Nations appears paralysed. Therefore the global leaders should convince President Putin to avoid nuclear escalation.
• Stopping the expansion of nuclear weapons.
• Nuclear confrontation should always be avoided with diplomacy and statesmanship.
• India can play an important role in persuading Russia and convincing President Putin.