(United Nations) “The era of nuclear blackmail must end”, pleaded Monday the UN secretary general, demanding the “elimination” of all nuclear weapons after threats from Russia on their possible use in Ukraine .
Posted at 11:59
“The Cold War had brought humanity within minutes of annihilation. Today, decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we hear nuclear intimidation again,” Antonio Guterres told a special meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination nuclear weapons.
” Let’s be clear. The era of nuclear blackmail must end. The idea that a country can wage and win a nuclear war is insane”, he added, believing that “without the elimination of nuclear weapons there can be no peace” nor “trust”.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use “all means” at his disposal to protect himself, reigniting speculation about the risks of nuclear conflict for the first time since 1945.
Antonio Guterres, who traveled to Hiroshima last August for the 77e anniversary of the atomic bombing, also once again regretted the failure of the review conference of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT).
At the end of four weeks of negotiations by the 191 signatory countries, Russia had blocked the adoption of the joint declaration at the end of August, in particular because of paragraphs concerning the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijjia, occupied by the Russian military.
Last week, the United States said it had asked Russia through private channels to end its rhetoric about the nuclear threat in the war in Ukraine, a weapon whose use would have, Washington warns, “catastrophic consequences “.