President Biden urged reaffirm US commitment to nuclear disarmament at G7 summit in Japan
Biden has been urged to deliver an address at the G7 summit acknowledging the 'long-lasting human suffering' caused by the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the 'catastrophic devastation' a nuclear war would cause 'on a global scale'
US President Joe Biden. AFP
Washington: Two dozen supporters of arms control have encouraged President Joe Biden to use the G7 conference taking place in Hiroshima, Japan, next month to reiterate the US’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and preparedness for discussions with Russia and China on the issue. Hiroshima was the target of the first atomic bomb dropped by the US during World War Two.
Several former senior US weapons control officials are among the advocates. They made their case in a letter to Biden on Wednesday that was not made public but was examined by Reuters.
The 19 May to 21 May summit in the Japanese city “creates an historic opportunity for you to acknowledge the horrors of nuclear war,” advance the goal of nuclear disarmament, and pledge “concrete steps to prevent a new arms race,” they wrote to Biden.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the White House.
The appeal comes in the wake of growing worries over the suspension of New START, the most recent agreement between the US and Russia to limit nuclear weapons, China’s growing nuclear arsenal, and Tehran’s stepped-up uranium enrichment in the wake of Washington’s 2018 rejection of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The letter urged Biden to deliver an address at the G7 summit acknowledging the “long-lasting human suffering” caused by the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the “catastrophic devastation” a nuclear war would cause “on a global scale.”
Biden should reiterate his readiness for talks with Russia on unfreezing New START, concerns with China’s nuclear buildup and his invitation to Beijing for a dialogue “at any level” on reducing the risk of miscalculation, the signers said.
He also should “create the conditions for progress on disarmament and head off a new arms race” by urging China, Britain and France to freeze their nuclear arsenals for as long as the United States and Russia maintain New START limits on their stockpiles, they said.
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