The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament today strongly welcomed the conclusion of a new nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia, describing it as a “major step on the road towards a nuclear-free future”.
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said “After almost a year of negotiations, these significant cut-backs are very welcome. World leaders must now build on this momentum to secure further rounds of cuts, bringing the other nuclear weapon states into the process. With both Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit next month and the review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in May, this is a most timely advance which must be exploited to the full.”
She continued, “Britain has its role to play too. Gordon Brown has said that ‘as soon as it becomes useful for our arsenal to be included in a broader negotiation, Britain stands ready to participate and to act’ – now is that time. Were Britain to put Trident on the negotiating table at the NPT Review Conference this could be a real game-changer. Scrapping the ruinously expensive Trident and any replacement would put pressure on France and China to consider parallel cuts.
“It is almost exactly twelve months since Obama committed the US to building a world free of nuclear weapons. Today’s agreement is just the sort of concrete step needed to achieve that goal, but we will need to see many more such steps before the world is released from the threat of nuclear doomsday. All nuclear weapon states, Britain included, must show their commitment to Obama’s worthy aim and push for the biggest strides possible at the upcoming summit meetings. As the President noted today, this is exactly what the five long-established nuclear powers committed to when they signed the NPT, which came into force 40 years ago this month.
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For further information and interviews please contact Ben Soffa, CND’s Press Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere.