By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- Late Friday, G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan where this year’s theme is a “nuclear free world,” reiterated their commitment to focus on nuclear disarmament. The leaders released a lengthy, formal statement late on Friday, criticizing what it said is Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable.” G7 leaders emphasized the statement in Bali of all G20 leaders including Russia and made it clear that any and all threats by Russia to use nuclear weapons “in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible.”
The G7 leaders statement highlighted the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States issued on January 3, 2022 on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races with their position clear – “that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” The leaders are calling on Russia to remember the principles “enshrined in that Statement,” and “that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion.” Also emphasized in the statement is the conviction by G7 leaders that the “overall decline in global nuclear arsenals achieved since the end of the Cold War must continue and not be reversed.”
They are calling for a “realistic, pragmatic and responsible approach” where nuclear weapons are concerned and said: “In this regard, Japan’s “Hiroshima Action Plan” is a welcome contribution.” The leaders added: “We deeply regret Russia’s decision to undermine the New START Treaty and call on Russia to enable a return to full implementation of the Treaty. At the same time, China’s accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency nor meaningful dialogue, poses a concern to global and regional stability.” In the statement, G7 leaders proposed preventive steps through transparency and are calling for “long overdue negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” Leaders stated that 2023 marks the 30th year since the consensual adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT).
G7 leaders urge “all countries” to focus political attention on FMCT as a “priority action” that they state will delay another nuclear arms race. Leaders are calling on all “states that have not yet done so to declare and maintain voluntary moratoria on the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” Leaders agreed that a nuclear free world can never be achieved without “nuclear non-proliferation” and conclude that “meaningful dialogue on transparency regarding their nuclear arsenals and limiting nuclear competition” is a long-term solution for all states to confer with one another about their nuclear weapons status. Leaders further concluded: “The G7 recognizes the need for concrete steps by nuclear weapon States to reduce strategic risks. We call on China and Russia to engage substantively in relevant multilateral and bilateral forums, in line with their obligations under the NPT including Article VI.”
