UN chief urges nuclear powers to abide by pledge, warns global arms race has returned
- ‘I think that nobody, nobody can accept the idea that a new nuclear war would happen. This will be the destruction of the planet’ Guterres said
- Fears of a third atomic bombing have been on the rise amid Russia’s threats of a nuclear attack since its war on Ukraine began in February
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged countries with nuclear weapons to stick to their no-first-use commitment of their atomic arsenals, warning that the nuclear arms race has returned amid growing international tension.
“This is the moment … to ask the nuclear-armed countries to commit to the principle of non-first-use and to commit to not use and not threaten the non-nuclear countries,” Guterres said at a news conference in Tokyo, two days after he visited Hiroshima to commemorate victims of the August 6, 1945, atomic bombing.
“I think that nobody, nobody can accept the idea that a new nuclear war would happen. This will be the destruction of the planet”, Guterres said. “What is clear is if nobody uses for the first time then there will be no nuclear war”.
Fears of a third atomic bombing have been on the rise amid Russia’s threats of a nuclear attack since its war on Ukraine began in February.
On Thursday, Moscow shelled the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which holds Europe’s largest nuclear plant. When asked about the attack, Guterres said, “Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing”.
He said he fully supports the International Atomic Energy Agency in their effort to stabilise the plant and have access to the facility to exercise its mandate.