Advisory for Monday, 26 October 2009
Contacts:
In Moscow: Lawrence McDonnell, Ph: +7495 7216546
In Washington: Trevor Fitzgibbon, Ph: 202-406-0646
Global Zero Leaders Urge US-Russia to Begin Negotiations for Deeper Cuts in Arsenals Once Current Negotiations Conclude
International Group Says Next Round of Bilateral Negotiations Should Lead to Multilateral Talks on the Phased Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Worldwide
Amb. Richard Burt, Amb. Thomas Pickering, Sen. Mikhail Margelov, Igor Yurgens, Amb Wolfgang Ishinger, Major Gen. (Ret.) Peng Guangqian, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Amb.Yukio Satoh, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, Amb Shaharyar Khan Avl. for Interviews
Moscow – Global Zero, a group of more than 200 political and military leaders from around the world, convened its first Commission meeting in Moscow October 26-27 and urged the U.S. and Russia to begin negotiations for deeper reductions in their arsenals once the current negotiations to replace the START accord have concluded. The group said that once this next round of bilateral negotiations begins, other nuclear weapons countries must engage in a multilateral process toward the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons by all countries.
The Commission met with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today to consult with him regarding the START negotiations and the Commission’s step-by-step plan for the phased, verified elimination of nuclear weapons—a four-phased strategy to reach a global zero accord over 14 years (2010-2023) and to complete the dismantlement of all remaining nuclear warheads over the following seven years (2024-2030).
Ambassador Richard Burt, Chief U.S. Negotiator for the START 1 negotiations and Global Zero U.S. Chair, said, “Once the current U.S.-Russian negotiations for a START follow-on accord successfully conclude, the Global Zero Commission urges both sides to begin negotiations for deeper reductions in their arsenals.”
Russian Senator Mikhail Margelov, a Global Zero leader, said, “The next round of Russia-U.S. negotiations to begin after the new agreement is signed must lead to multilateral talks with the other nuclear weapons countries. We must work with every nuclear power to demand Global Zero with one voice.”
The Global Zero Commission, comprising 23 political and military leaders with security experience from Russia, the US, China, Great Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Germany and Japan -- including Burt, Margelov, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, and Igor Yurgens – met in Moscow to build on the momentum and international support the Global Zero initiative and the idea of eliminating all nuclear weapons has gained in recent months.
In April, Presidents Medvedev and Obama publicly committed their two countries “to achieving a nuclear free world”. In July, the two Presidents met in Moscow and announced concrete proposals to cut their nuclear arsenals. In September, the UN Security Council, building on Presidents Medvedev’s and Obama’s leadership, unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
The Commission will present its final plan at the Global Zero Summit in Paris, February 2-4, 2010 -- an event which will convene 250 international leaders for strategy talks on the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons and to launch the next phase of the initiative’s global campaign to build public and political support for this agenda.
Global Zero is an international, non-partisan initiative dedicated to achieving the phased, verified elimination of all nuclear weapons and spearheaded by a group of more than 200 leaders worldwide, including many who have worked at senior levels with issues of national security such as former heads of state, former foreign ministers, former defense ministers, former national security advisors, and former top military commanders.