The leaders of the five greatest nuclear powers, Russia, the US, China, the UK and France have all released a joint statement on avoiding arms races and the prevention of nuclear war.

"We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," the statement says, adding that the five countries consider the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks to be their responsibilities.

The five states also asserted that they remain committed to their NPT obligations, and the pursuit of negotiations "in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

The joint statement also stressed on the importance of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, saying that diplomacy can help avoid military confrontation and increase mutual understanding among states. 

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying that this statement "will help increase mutual trust and replace competition among major powers with coordination and cooperation." 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, for his part, was quoted by Ria Novosti as saying that Russia considered a summit between the nuclear powers of the world to be a necessity.