CND Press Roundup Monday 27th June 2022

War in Ukraine

• Russia will send nuclear-capable missiles to Belarus and could also upgrade the latter’s military aircraft so they can fire nuclear missiles, Russia’s foreign ministry has said. The announcement comes after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg – where Lukashenko expressed concern about “aggressive”, “confrontational” and “repulsive” policies of neighbouring Lithuania and Poland.

• The Mirror has an exclusive with the story of a British tour guide who made a marriage proposal at Chernobyl. James Galbraith first met Ukrainian translator Olya while running a tour at the defunct nuclear site. The pair returned to Chernobyl to run their own Chernobyl tours in late 2021, with James proposing outside the site’s Reactor 4 building.

AUKUS

• Australia’s PM Anthony Albanese will meet with France’s Emmanuel Macron – as part of efforts for a diplomatic reset following last year’s high profile spat over a cancelled submarine contract. Scott Morrison – Albanese’s predecessor – ruffled French feathers in September when he announced that the French agreement for diesel-powered subs would be ditched in favour of a new nuclear-powered sub procurement programme with the US and UK (AUKUS). “It is important that reset occurs. France, of course, is central to power in Europe. But it’s also a key power in the Pacific, in our own region as well … Next week’s visit is a very concrete sign of the repair that’s been done already,” Albanese said.

TPNW

• Common Dreams looks at last week’s TPNW meeting in Vienna – with some comments on the hypocrisy of German and Dutch observers who attend the meetings: “German and Dutch representatives took their turn and spoke to the MSP on June 22, but both NATO members used exactly the same words to note their government’s explicit disapproval of the TPNW, and to voice their supposed support for the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Both representatives said their governments ‘will not accede to” the nuclear ban treaty “because the TPNW is inconsistent with NATO doctrine.’ The hypocrisy in German and Dutch opposition is that their ‘sharing’ of US nuclear weapons, while consistent with ‘NATO doctrine,’ is totally inconsistent with their hallowed Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In fact, their 50-year-long dismissal of the NPT’s binding (Art. VI) obligation to begin negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament ‘at an early date’ is also completely inconsistent with their feigned support for the NPT.

NATO

• Some coverage of last weekend’s No to NATO actions in the Socialist Worker.

CBRN

• The Morning Star reports on claims made by a Kurdish resistance commander that Turkey has used “tactical nuclear weapons” in Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) commander Duran Kalkan said “members of the Kurdish resistance movement made the claim after they escaped from the Tepe Sor area close to the Iraqi-Turkish border earlier this month.” While there is no evidence to support such claims, Turkey has also been accused of using chemical weapons in its war against the PKK. Turkey doesn’t possess its own nuclear weapons but does station US nuclear weapons as part of NATO.  

UK Nuclear Energy

• A decision on funding for the £20 billion nuclear reactor at Sizewell C could be signed off in a matter of weeks, The Telegraph reports. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng could make the call within a fortnight, with Whitehall’s commitment to taking a 20 percent stake in the project being seen as crucial to enticing further private investment. The Government’s increased involvement in the project comes after the decision to sideline the Chinese state-owned firm China General Nuclear from taking part – citing national security concerns. However, this has left a considerable funding gap for the project – and another partner, EDF, has been calling for further assistance to help get the project off the ground.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• G7 members will discuss the possible reviving of the Iran nuclear deal as leaders of the world’s richest economies meet in the Bavarian Alps. It follows a visit by the EU’s foreign policy head, Josef Borrell, to Tehran where he met top Iranians officials. Indirect talks between Iran and the US are also expected to restart soon after they were derailed in March following a last minute change in Iranian demands.

• Meanwhile Israel’s defence minister insisted on Sunday that it is the government that decides policy on Iran and not the security establishment – after reports that top generals were in favour of Iran renewing a deal with Western powers. Reuters, quoting the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily, said the chiefs of military intelligence and strategic planning believe reviving the 2015 deal would buy Israel time to better prepare for an attack “aimed at denying its arch-foe the means to make a nuclear weapon.”