(RIAC) The Ninth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has opened in New York. Representatives of NPT member nations meet once every five years to discuss the current state of nuclear arsenals and prospects for reducing them, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the development of peaceful nuclear energy. Despite the relative success of the previous conference that took place in 2010, experts are now forecasting a lack of progress at best and the start of a crisis for control over nuclear weapons and non-proliferation in the worst-case scenario. Deadlock in the implementation of key provisions of the NPT has been cited as the main reason.
The causes of this deadlock are political and cannot be overcome except by returning to the initial understanding of the specific nature and purpose of the nuclear arms control process. Since the time they appeared, “doomsday weapons” have had a sacral nature and cannot be compared with other type of weapon. The vast majority of nations believe that nuclear arsenals should be reduced and their proliferation should be prevented because nuclear arms have exceptionally destructive power and even a “limited” nuclear war is guaranteed to result in a global environmental disaster.
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In Russian: Политические тупики ядерного разоружения
