US' withdrawal from ABM Treaty behind nuclear arms race
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Former US President Bush's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty triggered a new nuclear arms race between Russia and the United States.
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Washington's withdrawal from the ABM Treaty limited the number of anti-ballistic missile systems that each country could develop.
Akira Kawasaki, a member of the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), told Sputnik that former US President George W. Bush's decision to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) twenty years ago triggered a new nuclear arms race, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden to maintain dialogue to avoid a nuclear war.
ABM Treaty, 1972
Bush withdrew the US from the ABM Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1972 on December 13, 2001.
“The US announcement of withdrawal from ABM treaty in 2001 paved the way for the dangerous nuclear arms race. The build-up of missile defense systems has always been accompanied with offense capabilities, thus promoting military build-up and preparedness on the other side,” Kawasaki said.
He warned that the current nuclear arms race can trigger catastrophic consequences, “either by design or accident.”
“Presidents Putin and Biden should promote further dialogue, based on the common recognition that 'nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,' as they reaffirmed ... in Geneva to restore nuclear disarmament regime,” he noted.
Landmark summit, 2021
Putin and Biden met for the first time in June 16 in Geneva, in what is known as the landmark summit. The two leaders discussed and agreed to launch consultations regarding strategic stability. They adopted a joint statement reaffirming commitment to the 1985 formula by Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and former US President Ronald Reagan that nuclear conflict must be inadmissible.
A nuclear disaster, according to the ICAN member, would have major worldwide ramifications.
“The two states must have the sense of responsibility for the whole humanity,” he said, drawing attention to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which, as Kawasaki recalled, provides a non-discriminatory and universal goal that the two leaders should adhere to.
TPNW, 2017
The TPNW outlaws the development, testing, manufacturing, stockpiling, transfer, and the threat of the use of nuclear weapons. It was accepted by the United Nations in July 2017 and will enter into force in January 2021.
“In the nearest term, the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) that takes place next month is a right place where the two states discuss ways to control nuclear arms and minimize the risks in an accountable manner to wider international community,” he said.
NPT
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Pact (NPT) is an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, weapons technology, and promoting cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy to achieve nuclear disarmament.
The 2022 NPT Review Conference is scheduled to meet from 4 to 28 January.
