UN Disarmament Chief: Risk of Nuclear Weapon Use Is Highest Since Cold Warw`

• UN Disarmament Chief: Risk of Nuclear Weapon Use Is Highest Since Cold War
  by Margaret Besheer, https://www.voanews.com/
  The United Nations disarmament chief warned Friday that the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is higher now than at any other time since the Cold War. “The war in Ukraine represents the most acute example of that risk,” High Representative for Disarmament Izumi Nakamitsu told a Security Council meeting.
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  The meeting was requested by Ukraine, and supported by the United States and Albania, to discuss Russia’s March 25 announcement that it plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.
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  “When it comes to issues related to nuclear weapons, I wish to be clear at the outset: All states must avoid taking any actions that could lead to escalation, mistake or miscalculation,” she said. Nakamitsu added that all parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states – should strictly adhere to their commitments and obligations under the treaty.
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  Nakamitsu urged states to return to dialogue and de-escalate tensions, and she appealed specifically to Russia and the United States to return to full implementation of the New START Treaty, a major arms control pact between the two powers.
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  Russia said last month it would no longer comply with New START, and it announced this week that it would stop sharing nuclear weapons data twice a year. Washington said it would withhold its nuclear data in an effort to encourage Moscow to return to compliance with the treaty.
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