NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s opening remarks at the 16th Annual NATO Conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction, Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.
Transcript
Mr Secretary General, thank you so much for your dedication to this topic. Thank you for being here today. I turn it over to you for your remarks, sir. Thank you so much. And thank you, Minister Aresco Bogdan. On many thanks to Romania for organizing this NATO conference under very challenging circumstances. NATO has bean at the forefront of nuclear disarmament for decades because our ultimate goal is a world free off nuclear weapons. Together we have reduced the number of nuclear weapons in Europe by more than 90% off the past 30 years. But in uncertain world, these weapons continue to play a vital role in preserving peace. Onley three NATO allies possess nuclear weapons, but all NATO allies benefit from the security guarantees they provide. Our nuclear deterrent is our strongest deterrent. At the same time, there are legitimate concerns about nuclear weapons on their proliferation. Russia and China are investing heavily in sophisticated on diverse nuclear arsenals. North Korea continues. It’s a nuclear expansion on in Iran. The centrifuges are spinning again With this. The prospect for complete nuclear disarmament seems remote, but it’s not less relevant today. We need to pursue nuclear arms control on disarmament as a matter of urgency. Yet we need to do this in a balanced, reciprocal on verifiable way. So today I will set out thes steps that are critical in our efforts towards nuclear disarmament. First, we must continue to invest in the tools that I worked, such as the Treaty on Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons NPT. Earlier this year, we marked the 50th anniversary off the entry into force of empathy, a treaty that all NATO allies strongly support on that has successfully limited the global spread off nuclear weapons in the past five decades. Thanks directly to the NPT, tens of thousands of nuclear weapons have been eliminated. It has also provided a framework for countries like Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Africa on Ukraine to abound in their nuclear programs. On it has established a robust safeguards and verification regime, allowing non nuclear weapon states to take advantage off peaceful uses of nuclear energy. So it has achieved a lot, but we cannot take its enduring success for granted. It requires sustained commitment and effort. NATO allies are playing their part in March this year. We call on all parties to the treaty to work together towards a successful NPT review conference next year. Because this conference is a major opportunity for international community to strengthen the empathy, we must also cease this opportunity to not undermine the MPT or challenge it’s vital role. I know that there are those that look at the treaty on the prohibition off nuclear weapons or the ban treaty as a new alternative solution to eliminate all nuclear weapons. At first glance, it seems attractive, but the reality is that it will not work. The ban treaty has no mechanism to ensure the balanced reduction weapons on no mechanism for verification. Moreover, it has not been signed by any state that possesses nuclear weapons. Simply giving up our deterrent without inmigrantes that others will do the same is dangerous options because the world with Russia, China, North Korea on others have nuclear weapons. But NATO does not. It’s not a safer world. On the contrary, it will leave us vulnerable to pressure. An attack on it will undermine the security off our reliance. The second step to nuclear disarmament is to preserve the bilateral arms control regime between the United States and Russia. We no longer live in a cold war reality with two superpowers. But the U. S and Russia still have by far the largest nuclear arsons in the world, so they hold a special responsibility to lead the way on nuclear arms control and disarmament. Historically, they have. When the first start treaty entered into force in 1994 the US on Russia were limited to 6000 deployed nuclear warheads each. Now, under the new start, their limited to no more than 1550 deployed strategic warheads each for the U. S. This is a reduction from over 30,000 during the Cold War. That is very significant. Now the future off new stock is at stage is at stake. It expires early next year. We should not find ourselves in a situation where we have no treaty limiting the number of strategic nuclear weapons. So therefore welcomed the dialogue between the US and Russia to find a way forward, just a Z they have in the past. They must continue to lead the way on arms control. But China must play its part two and that brings me to the third step. We must develop a global nuclear arms control regime suited to a multi polar world, a regime that takes account off the rise of China the time when China was at the margins off nuclear weapons development is over. As a global power with a large military and growing nuclear arsenal, it has a responsibility to engage openly and constructively in arms control negotiations. Regrettably, Beijing has so far refused to join any talks on the lack of transparency on its nuclear capabilities and intentions is off concern. But ultimately I am convinced that China, like the rest of the world, would benefit from an arms control regime that limits the normal nuclear weapons increases transparency on enhanced this predictability. Those are the foundations for international stability. Uh huh. Ladies and gentlemen, NATO’s nuclear deterrent has preserved peace in Europe for more than 70 years at the time and threats to our security arm or complex and unpredictable than ever before. We need a credible nuclear deterrent combined with effective arms control, to preserve peace on our freedom. But our ultimate goal remains unchanged. A world free off nuclear weapons. I have set out steps that would move us towards that goal. All of us participating in this conference today. Allies, partners on non partner countries have a responsibility to make the world a safer place, Thank you very much. And I wish you a very successful conference.