At the United Nations on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed what he called “a pivotal moment” in the fight to protect the world from nuclear threats.
Blinken highlighted North Korea’s “illegal nuclear programme” and “ongoing provocations” at the start of the 10th annual Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference at the U.N.
He also mentioned Iran’s “path of nuclear escalation” and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, which included seizing control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
In particular, Zaporizhzhia, one of the biggest nuclear plants in Europe, has been taken over by Russia, which causes us great anxiety, Blinken remarked.
Blinken continued, calling it “the height of irresponsibility,” adding, “There are credible reports, including in the media today, that Russia is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield, but a nuclear shield in that it is firing on Ukrainians from around the plant, and of course, the Ukrainians cannot and will not fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving a nuclear plant.”
At a time when nuclear weapons threats and nuclear safety are of growing concern among world leaders, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and the U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, are also present at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the first days of the nuclear review conference, which had been postponed since 2020.
The U.N. secretary general stated that “today, humanity is just one mistake, one miscalculation away from nuclear devastation.”
The president of the international watchdog organisation, Grossi, stated that the conflict in Ukraine is “so serious that the dreadful possibility of a future nuclear confrontation or accident has once more reared its terrifying head.”
Grossi issued a more specific warning on the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, noting that “the situation is becoming more serious by the day.”
Since the agency hasn’t been able to visit the location since before the fighting started five months ago, he said last week that it is “urgent.” Grossi was unambiguous about the risks on Monday: “While this conflict rages, inaction is unacceptable.”
Grossi remarked, “We need everyone’s support,” and added, “If an accident occurs at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, we will not have a natural calamity to blame – we would only have ourselves to answer for.”
“Ukraine had the confidence to give up the (nuclear) weapons that it inherited when the Soviet Union split because of assurances that Russia made to preserve and protect its sovereignty, its independence, and its structural integrity,” Blinken told CBS News during a press conference.
“Russia has now done exactly the reverse, that it has attacked Ukraine, unprovoked in an effort to destroy that sovereignty and independence,” Blinken said.
“Who sends a terrible message to countries throughout the world that are making judgments about whether or not to seek nuclear weapons.”
He was referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, an agreement in which, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States, Russia, and Britain pledged “to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” and “to refrain from the threat or use of force” against it.
These assurances led Ukraine to give up “what amounted to the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, consisting of approximately 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads,” according to accordi
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which was established in 1968 to stop the spread of weapons technology, aimed to limit the number of nuclear powers, but it has been difficult to contain the nuclear genie.
The Cold War’s height saw Britain, China, France, and Russia (then the Soviet Union) as the only nuclear-armed nations; since then, their arsenals have shrunk.
Israel is thought to possess a nuclear arsenal, despite the fact that it has not confirmed nor denied the existence of a programme. In the years following, however, India, Pakistan, and North Korea have created nuclear weapons.
Since the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran has continued to advance its nuclear programme but has not yet created a weapon.
The head of Iran’s nuclear programme stated this week that the country has the capacity to produce nuclear weapons but has no current plans to do so.
The U.N. summit will go on into August, and North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programmes are certain to come up every day.
According to Blinken, North Korea “continues to develop its illegal nuclear programme and continues its continuing provocation against the region.” “Pyongyang is prepared to conduct its seventh nuclear test as we meet today.”
The secretary general’s sobering assessment of the nuclear threat was that “guardrails to avoid escalation are diminishing” and that “the risks of proliferation are mounting.”
At the end of the week, Guterres travels to Hiroshima to commemorate the anniversary of the American nuclear attack during World War II, an occasion that is not missed on the speakers.
The indirect threat by Russia to use nuclear weapons in the conflict in Ukraine, according to Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has increased “global worry that yet another disaster by nuclear weapon use is a serious possibility.”
Blinken also made a point of addressing China’s threats over the likelihood of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan, a sovereign island that China is adamant about uniting with the mainland.
Blinken declared: “The speaker will decide for herself whether or not to travel to Taiwan. Congress is a separate, equal arm of the government, and the speaker has sole authority to make decisions.”
If the speaker chooses to travel and China attempts to instigate a crisis or otherwise raise tensions, Beijing would be solely responsible, according to Blinken.
In the event that she decides to visit, “We are looking for them to act appropriately and not engage in any more escalation,”
Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated on Monday that if Pelosi visits Taiwan, China will protect its security and sovereignty. He described the planned visit as “serious and controversial.”