A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, says the joint statement released on Monday by the P5 – US, Russia, China, France, and the UK- that have promised to work together on nuclear disarmament, affirming their opposition to using their nuclear arsenals for offensive purposes.
The statement also noted that nuclear weapons should only serve defensive purposes, to deter aggression and prevent war, considering it could have far-reaching consequences.
The five nuclear nations, known as the P5, claimed in the statement that none of their nukes are targeted at each other or any other state, and have pledged to continue to abide by their commitments of bilateral and multilateral nonproliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements.
The P5 signatories are not the only countries in the world with atomic weapons since both India and Pakistan possess them and it is widely believed that Israel has a nuclear arsenal while North Korea has also tested several nuclear devices.
In a time when relations between some of the P5 are at a historic low point, the joint statement is a kind of refreshing thought ahead of the planned negotiations between the US and NATO with Moscow amid the high tensions over the placement of American nukes in Europe.
On top of that, the US and Russia have long squabbled – prompting some in Congress to even call for nuclear war – over the alleged ‘invasion of Ukraine’ Washington is accusing Moscow of planning and the American refusal to remove its nukes from European soil.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has also ratcheted up the tension, suggesting his country could host Russian missiles in response.
US officials have also accused China of dramatically increasing its stockpile of nuclear arms, prompting an immediate response from Beijing claiming it has a “no first use” policy and that China’s weapons threaten no country, accusing Washington of disregarding the facts.
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