The five member countries of the Security Council (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France) on Monday pledged to “prevent the further spread” of nuclear weapons, in a joint statement ahead of a review conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In the midst of negotiations with Iran, suspected of wanting to acquire the atomic bomb, these five nuclear powers underline their “desire to work with all States to put in place a security environment allowing further progress to be made in terms of disarmament, with the ultimate objective of a world free of nuclear weapons, ”specifies the French presidency, which has been coordinating the work of these countries for two years.
This declaration is published before the holding, scheduled this year under the auspices of the United Nations, of the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT, the international treaty that entered into force in 1970 to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. It has 191 States Parties.
Nuclear weapons “must be used for defensive purposes”
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” say the five signatory countries. “In view of the far-reaching consequences that the use of nuclear weapons would have, we also affirm that they, as long as they exist, must serve for defensive purposes, deterrence and prevention of war”, add -they. “Each of us intends to maintain and further strengthen our national measures intended to prevent the unauthorized or unintentional use of nuclear weapons,” the text continues.
The signatories are the five states legally recognized as “nuclear-weapon” by the NPT. Three other countries considered to have the atomic bomb – India, Pakistan and Israel – are non-signatories to the NPT. North Korea has denounced this Treaty.
Westerners suspect Iran of seeking to develop, using the technology of its satellite launchers, long-range ballistic launchers capable of carrying conventional or nuclear charges. Negotiations resumed in December in Vienna to relaunch the 2015 agreement on its nuclear program (whose acronym in English is JCPOA), which became moribund after the withdrawal of the United States in 2018.
Iran notes the ‘realism’ of the West
“Today we can see the retreat, or rather the realism of the western part in the talks in Vienna, which cannot have any demands beyond the nuclear agreement”, indicated the spokesperson for the ministry. Iranian Foreign Minister Saïd Khatibzadeh in front of the press. “It is too early to judge whether the United States and the three European countries have drawn up a real agenda to commit to lifting the sanctions,” added Saïd Khatibzadeh, however.
Earlier in the morning, the official Irna news agency announced the arrival of Iranian negotiator Ali Bagheri in the Austrian capital to continue talks, after a three-day break due to the holiday season. Ali Baghéri, who on Thursday reported “relatively satisfactory” progress during the first days of the new round of negotiations, met European Union coordinator Enrique Mora, the Irna agency reported on Monday evening. Ali Baghéri held a separate meeting with key negotiators from European parties to the 2015 agreement, the agency added.