UN chief calls for fresh push on nuclear disarmament

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for finding a new path toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

He made the call at a high-level meeting held Tuesday to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. He said nuclear disarmament is not a voluntary matter but a legally binding obligation set out under treaties.

He said countries holding nuclear stockpiles must return to negotiations to prevent the use of such weapons, and urged the United States and Russia to negotiate a successor framework to the expired New START treaty.

He said all nuclear-armed states must reduce the role of such weapons in their security policies, and stressed the need to safeguard the decades-old global process aimed at preventing another arms race. According to Guterres, decades-old mechanisms for controlling nuclear threats are beginning to weaken, and technological advances are increasing the risks.