FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
UN’s Guterres Wants Next U.S.-Russian Steps in Disarmament; Russia Urges BMD Talks
Feb. 6, 2018 (EIRNS)—In the aftermath of the statements from both Washington and Moscow that the two signers to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty have met the levels of nuclear warheads and launchers specified in the treaty, UN Secretary General António Guterres requested the United States and Russia to take the next steps towards further disarmament.
“The Secretary-General calls on the United States and the Russian Federation to engage in the necessary dialogue that will lead to further arsenal reductions and to continue to display the historic leadership across the multilateral disarmament agenda that has proven so valuable to our collective security,”
said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in a written statement yesterday, reports TASS. He stressed the necessity of further disarmament efforts, especially in the current situation “when global anxieties about nuclear weapons are higher than at any time since the Cold War.” “These endeavors can play significant roles in building trust and confidence, and preventing, mitigating and resolving conflicts,” Dujarric underscored.
Also, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said yesterday that now is the time for the U.S. and Russia to resume dialogue on ballistic missile defense (BMD).
“I would like to emphasize the growing relevance of the missile defense topic. Let me remind you that an indestructible connection between strategic offensive arms and missile defense is noted in the preamble of the current Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. There has been no substantial dialogue with the Americans on this matter for a long time. Now is the moment when it should be resumed,”
Ryabkov said in an interview with Russian daily Izvestia.
“This agenda, in our opinion, includes issues of maintaining and ensuring of strategic stability. It also considers the work on regional crises as well as economic interaction,”
Ryabkov stated.
