The leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states opposed the arms race and called for everything possible to be done to prevent a nuclear war in the future. Joint statement published by on the Kremlin website on Monday, January 3.
As noted by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the statement was prepared at the initiative of Moscow. According to her, its promulgation was supposed to be carried out in conjunction with the beginning of the X Conference to review the operation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It was supposed to open in New York on January 4, 2022, but was postponed due to the worsening epidemiological situation in the United States.
Serving defensive purposes
Representatives of the so-called nuclear “five” – Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France – stressed that the use of nuclear weapons would have far-reaching consequences. In this regard, they advocated that nuclear weapons should be for defensive purposes, containment of aggression and prevention of war.
There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be waged
joint statement by the leaders of the nuclear “five”
The heads of the nuclear five countries noted that they are determined to conduct a dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and recognition of each other’s interests, intend to increase the level of mutual trust and continue to search for diplomatic approaches to prevent military confrontation.
Commitment to the contract
Politicians also stressed that the further proliferation of such weapons must be prevented. The authors of the statement noted that they are ready to remain committed to the obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In addition, they assured that in the future they plan to look for diplomatic ways to resolve emerging conflicts, conduct a constructive dialogue with each other and avoid military confrontation.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed in 1968 by the UN Committee on Disarmament in order to limit the number of countries possessing such weapons. The parties to the treaty are almost all states of the world, with the exception of Israel, India, Pakistan, North Korea and South Sudan.
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Reaction to the statement
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the joint statement of the leaders of the nuclear “five” on the inadmissibility of nuclear war. In a statement, the spokesman for the Secretary General Stefan Dujarric notes that Guterres appreciates the recognition by the nuclear powers of the need to adhere to their multilateral and bilateral obligations on non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control, including under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Political scientist Yuri Svetov in a conversation with Russia Today expressed the opinion that the precondition for the joint statement was a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden, the topics of which, among other things, were issues of security and the inadmissibility of the use of nuclear weapons. In his opinion, compliance by all parties with the provisions of the joint statement will be “an encouraging start to 2022.”
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Nothing new
In turn, Fyodor Lukyanov, director for scientific work of the Valdai International Discussion Club, in a conversation with TASS stated that the joint statement contains nothing new and should not be overestimated. The expert stressed that this indicates that at the most basic level, the nuclear powers have an understanding of the need to maintain the security regime.
The head of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, Daryl Kimball, told the agency that this statement requires concrete action. He also drew attention to the fact that the leaders of the nuclear “five” did not explain how their plans for a nuclear war comply with the laws and customs of war and international humanitarian law.
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