Nato Secretary General rejects UN treaty banning nuclear weapons

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has rejected a UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons.

The 16th Annual NATO Conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction, Arms Control. Credit: NATO.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has rejected a UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons.

It was announced by Stoltenberg at Nato’s 16th annual Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) conference, which was organised by Romania this year.

Stoltenberg said that it would weaken the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and neglect the security realities faced currently.

He said: “Giving up our deterrent without any guarantees that others will do the same is a dangerous option.

“A world where Russia, China, North Korea and others have nuclear weapons, but Nato does not, is not a safer world.”

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During the WMD conference, he also told that nuclear arms control and disarmament should be pursued and implemented in a ‘balanced, reciprocal and verifiable way’.

He listed the steps to achieve the nuclear disarmament and added that the NPT provides the best chance to reduce atomic arms.

Furthermore, he urged the international community to boost the treaty and to collaborate to ensure the success of the NPT Review Conference next year.

Stoltenberg added: “Our ultimate goal is a world free of nuclear weapons.

“Together, we have reduced the number of nuclear weapons in Europe by more than 90% over the past 30 years but in an uncertain world, these weapons continue to play a vital role in preserving peace.”