Russia, Ukraine and nuclear weapons Call for no-first-use published in The Hill, USA
Posted: 8th March 2022
The Hill, a top US political news-site read by the White House and more US lawmakers than any other site, published an article today Russia, Ukraine and nuclear weapons, which discusses the increased nuclear threats arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and calls on Presidents Putin and Biden to reduce the risks by announcing no-first-use policies.
The article is co-authored by Ambassador (ret.) Thomas Graham, a former senior U.S. diplomat who was involved in the negotiation of every single international arms control and nonproliferation agreement from 1970 to 1997, and General (ret.) Bernard Norlain, former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force and the president of Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament, a co-founding organization of NoFirstUse Global.
The article also reports on Fulfil the NPT: From nuclear threats to human security, the Open Letter organised by NoFirstUse Global which calls on nuclear weapons states to fulfill their NPT commitments and phase out the role of nuclear weapons in their security doctrines, starting with no-first-use policies.
and keep the goal of nuclear disarmament alive
“Ukraine will not be the only hotspot in this new Cold War, which raises nuclear tensions and increases the risk of escalation and/or miscalculation touching off nuclear war… What steps can we take to lower nuclear risks now?”
“We can’t allow aggression with impunity — but if Russia (and China) return to Cold War-type geopolitics, we also can’t risk a return to Cold War nuclear politics.
“First-use options are literally playing with fire in very combustible situations. No-first-use policies could defuse these risks and help keep alive the NPT goal of eliminating nuclear arsenals.”
Excerpts from Russia, Ukraine and nuclear weapons.
Thomas Graham and Bernard Norlain, The Hill. March, 7, 2022
Fulfil the NPT: From nuclear threats to human security
Fulfil the NPT, the Open Letter mentioned by Ambassador Graham and General Norlain in the Hill article Russia, Ukraine and nuclear weapons, was sent on January 24 to the nuclear weapon states and other states parties to the NPT (with copies sent to the four countries not in the NPT – India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan). See Open Letter – Fulfil the NPT – sent to nuclear weapon States.However, the Open Letter remains open for endorsement until August to keep the pressure on the nuclear weapon states and in preparation for a presentation to the NPT States Parties at the 10th NPT Review Conference. We encourage you to circulate the Open Letter to your networks for further endorsement.
NoFirstUse Global is a network of organizations, academics, policy makers and civil society advocates working cooperatively for the adoption of no-first-use policies by nuclear-armed States, the support for such policies from nuclear allied countries, and the implementation of such policies to help achieve broader nuclear risk-reduction, non-proliferation and disarmament measures.