The Atlantic Council of the United States and the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction invite you to participate in a private workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia on “Countering Russian Influence Efforts Against Nonproliferation Norms in Eastern Europe.” We invite you to participate in-person on Wednesday, October 11 from 9:00am – 1:00pm CET.

In May 2023, the Atlantic Council hosted two workshops with a cross-sectoral group of participants from government agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector to discuss Russia’s information influence activities, particularly those that target nonproliferation norms.

In an effort to undermine European security, Russia has intensified the use of false and unfounded narratives around chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons in Europe and abroad. Russia’s disinformation and propaganda include false claims that U.S. cooperative nonproliferation efforts are a front for developing biological weapons and that the United States and Ukraine are undertaking CBRN weapons development. Through its information influence activities, Russia has circulated false narratives that attack transatlantic cooperation meant to encourage nonproliferation.

For the second workshop in the series, the Atlantic Council will return to Bratislava to discuss our strategic framework for countering Russian malign influence related to nonproliferation norms based in part on our previous workshops and discussions. Your participation is requested to help design successful counter-responses, facilitate connections, and strengthen the community of practice dedicated to safeguard nonproliferation norms against Russian influence.

To promote frank discussions, the workshop will be held under the Chatham House Rule: any information shared may be used by participants, but it cannot be attributed to individual attendees. The workshop will be conducted in English.

Please register to attend by Monday, September 11. Additional information, including the workshop venue and read-ahead materials, will be provided to participants ahead of time.

In order to register for this event, participants must submit proper identification in accordance with U.S. government regulations. This information will only be used for internal verification purposes and not be shared.

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The Atlantic Council of the United States is a U.S.-based nonpartisan organization that seeks to galvanize U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges. The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction works to prevent proliferator states and terrorist groups from developing or acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and delivery systems that could threaten the U.S. homeland and U.S. interests abroad.