Natalia Kalinina, Head of the Group on Non-Conventional Threats to Security, Center for International Security, Institute for World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), and Vadim Kozyulin, Special Projects Director of the PIR Center, use the official statistics to assess the state of affairs in arms exports and imports control. They present their views on the effectiveness of the existing international agreements, UN, OSCE and the EU regulations on arms exports. The article offers the analysis of the provisions and principles of the International Arms Trade Treaty from the point of view of the key actors, such as Russia and the United States. Finally the authors conclude that even the most careful wording cannot guarantee that under certain conditions the treaty could never turn from an instrument of transparency into a tool for secrecy and a cause for discord.